Reaction between Barium Chloride and Aluminium Sulphate

When barium chloride reacts with aluminium sulphate, two new compounds are formed: aluminium chloride and barium sulphate. The reaction can be written as follows:

BaCl2 + Al2(SO4)3 → 2AlCl3 + 3BaSO4

Explanation of the Reaction

The reaction between barium chloride and aluminium sulphate is a double displacement reaction. In this type of reaction, the cations and anions of two ionic compounds exchange places to form two new compounds.

In the given reaction, barium chloride (BaCl2) is an ionic compound that contains one barium ion (Ba2+) and two chloride ions (Cl-). Aluminium sulphate (Al2(SO4)3) is also an ionic compound that contains two aluminium ions (Al3+) and three sulphate ions (SO42-).

When these two compounds are mixed together, the barium ions and sulphate ions combine to form barium sulphate (BaSO4), which is insoluble in water and forms a white precipitate. At the same time, the aluminium ions and chloride ions combine to form aluminium chloride (AlCl3), which is soluble in water.

The balanced chemical equation for the reaction shows that two molecules of barium chloride react with one molecule of aluminium sulphate to form two molecules of aluminium chloride and three molecules of barium sulphate.

Significance of the Reaction

The reaction between barium chloride and aluminium sulphate has several important applications in industry and chemistry. Barium sulphate is used as a contrast agent in medical imaging tests, while aluminium chloride is used as a catalyst in several chemical reactions.

This reaction also demonstrates the principles of stoichiometry, which is the study of the quantitative relationships between reactants and products in a chemical reaction. By balancing the equation and calculating the stoichiometric ratios, scientists can predict the amounts of each reactant and product that will be formed in the reaction.

3BaCl2(aq) + Al(SO4)3(aq) ----> 2AlCl3(aq) + 3BaSO4(aq)