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The essentials

Description 

Here is a brief description of copper.

• Standard state: solid at 298 K
• Colour: copper, metallic
• Classification: Metallic
• Availability:

  copper is available in many forms including bars, foil, sheet, granules, plates, powder, shot, turnings, wire, insulated wire, mesh, "evaporation slugs", and rods.

Small and large samples of copper foil like this, as well as sheet, wire, insulated wire, mesh, and rod (and copper alloy in foil, sheet, and wire form) can be purchased from Advent Research Materials via their web catalogue.

Copper is one of the most important metals. Copper is reddish with a bright metallic lustre. It is malleable, ductile, and a good conductor of heat and electricity (second only to silver in electrical conductivity). Its alloys, brass and bronze, are very important. Monel and gun metals also contain copper. Apparently the reason that policemen in the USA are nicknamed "cops" or "coppers" is to do with their uniforms which used to have copper buttons. The most important compounds are the oxide and the sulphate, (blue vitriol).

WebElements movies
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The picture above shows the result of adding different metal salts to a burning reaction mixture of potassium chlorate and sucrose. The red colour originates from strontium sulphate. The orange/yellow colour originates from sodium chloride. The green colour originates from barium chlorate. The blue colour originates from copper (I) chloride. The lilac colour that should be evident from the potassium chlorate is washed out by the other colours, all of which are more intense. Do not attempt this reaction unless are a professionally qualified chemist and you have carried out a legally satisfactory hazard assessment. Improperly done, this reaction is dangerous! Select a movie icon to see flame burning in from right to left.

Copper (I) chloride salts imparts a blue colour to flames. The picture above shows the colour arising from adding cuprous chloride (CuCl) to a burning mixture of potassium chlorate and sucrose. This flame is relatively cool. Hotter flames burn green bacause of emission from copper atoms. Do not attempt this reaction unless are a professionally qualified chemist and you have carried out a legally satisfactory hazard assessment.

Isolation

Copper metal is readily available commercially so it is not normally necesary to make it in the laboratory. Most copper production is based upon sulphide ores containing little copper but quite a lot of iron. New cleaner technologies are now important but older processes present major environmental problems. Complex procedures are used initially to form a form of copper sulphide appropriate for final reduction via a copper(I) oxide. The resulting crude copper is purified using an electrolytic procedure involving plating onto pure copper cathodes.

2Cu₂S + 3O₂ → 2Cu₂O + 2SO₂

2Cu₂O + Cu₂S → 6Cu + SO₂

Notably, the purification step leaves an "anode slime" which contains useful amounts of silver and gold.

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