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    m_mysterious007's Avatar
    m_mysterious007 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Dec 6, 2011, 10:55 AM
    Chemistry Project : Find the quantity of ammonium in hair dye ?
    Please help guys...
    Reply fast on :>Removed<
    Please reply fast need help on this project...
    Curlyben's Avatar
    Curlyben Posts: 18,514, Reputation: 1860
    BossMan
     
    #2

    Dec 6, 2011, 02:30 PM
    We are more than happy to HELP with your homework, but we will not do it for you.
    Show us you have even made an attempt and we'll try and assist further.
    jcaron2's Avatar
    jcaron2 Posts: 986, Reputation: 204
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    #3

    Dec 6, 2011, 02:54 PM
    There are a number of expensive analytical techniques for measuring ammonium concentration, but I assume you're trying to find a cheap and easy way to estimate the concentration for a school project?

    There's a white paper here which describes several ways that it's done. If it was me, I'd take a sample of hair dye and carefully dilute it by a known amount (say 100:1 or 1000:1; you may have to experiment) using deionized water. Then add a colorimetric indicator like indophenol blue to estimate the ammonium concentration in the diluted sample. Hopefully with a really diluted sample the color of the dye will be inconsequential.

    You'll then have to make up some samples with known ammonium concentration (by starting with a standard solution of known concentration - i.e. something other than hair dye - then diluting as necessary) until you can find a concentration which matches the color of your sample.

    Alternatively, if you can find the right indophenol blue home test kit, you may be able to compare the blueness of your sample to a hand-held color chart that tells you the concentration. If you've ever had a swimming pool or an aquarium, you may have seen similar test kits for chlorine measurement (only that's usually yellow, not blue). If you Google swimming pool ammonium test kit or aquarium ammonium test kit, you should be able to find a cheap source (or just go to your nearest pool or aquarium store and buy a cheap test kit).
    m_mysterious007's Avatar
    m_mysterious007 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Dec 7, 2011, 05:35 AM
    Hey really thanks for replying and for the awesome method.. Now going to do this project tomorrow in school. Lets see how I do...
    jcaron2's Avatar
    jcaron2 Posts: 986, Reputation: 204
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    #5

    Dec 7, 2011, 06:07 AM
    Good luck!
    m_mysterious007's Avatar
    m_mysterious007 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #6

    Dec 8, 2011, 02:25 AM
    Hey I use distilled water instead of deionized water because my teacher says they both are same and phenolphthalein instead of indophenol blue, and the diluted dye colour goes pink...
    Its not working good, don't know what to do next.. How to know the concentration of ammonia in it ?

    Please reply fast.. Have to show teacher this project observation.. <3
    jcaron2's Avatar
    jcaron2 Posts: 986, Reputation: 204
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    #7

    Dec 8, 2011, 06:21 AM
    Phenolphthalein is a lot less specific than indophenol blue. It changes color in the presence of pretty much any acid or base. Still, that might be okay as long as the hair dye doesn't contain any other strong acids or bases.

    Can you make up a sample of ammonium solution of known concentration, starting from a solution available in your classroom? If so, you could try diluting it a little at a time until the phenolphthalein no longer turns pink (and note what concentration that is). Then you could repeat the experiment using the hair dye until it also no longer turns pink, at which point the ammonium concentration should be the same as in the known sample. Then you just need to calculate the original concentration based on how much you diluted it.

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