chemistry

Sodium hexachloroplatinate

Sodium hexachloroplatinate is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sodium hexachloroplatinate rather than just read about it. In short: Sodium hexachloroplatinate(IV), the sodium salt of chloroplatinic acid, is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2[PtCl6], consisting of the sodium cation and the hexachloroplatinate anion. As explained by Cox and Peters, anhydrous sodium hexachloroplatinate, which is yellow, tends to form the orange hexahydrate upon storage in humid air.

Key takeaways

Sodium hexachloroplatinate belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sodium hexachloroplatinate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sodium hexachloroplatinate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sodium hexachloroplatinate(IV), the sodium salt of chloroplatinic acid, is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2[PtCl6], consisting of the sodium cation and the hexachloroplatinate anion. As explained by Cox and Peters, anhydrous sodium hexachloroplatinate, which is yellow, tends to form the orange hexahydrate upon storage in humid air. The latter can be dehydrated upon heating at 110 °C. The compound is utilised as the most common chemical shift reference in platinum-195 NMR spectroscopy, relative to which the shifts of other platinum species in solution are reported.

Preparation and reactions Sodium hexachloroplatinate is obtained as an intermediate in the preparation of Pt complexes, often starting with the dissolution of platinum in aqua regia, giving hexachloroplatinic acid, which is then reacted with sodium chloride and evaporated, leaving the salt behind.

Pt + 4 HNO3 + 6 HCl → H2[PtCl6] + 4 NO2 + 4 H2O H2[PtCl6] + 2 NaCl → Na2[PtCl6] + 2 HCl The compound can be converted back to platinum metal via conversion to the ammonium salt followed by thermal decomposition, allowing platinum metal to be recovered from laboratory residues.

Na2[PtCl6] + 2 NH4Cl → (NH4)2[PtCl6] + 2 NaCl 3 (NH4)2[PtCl6] → 3 Pt + 2 N2 + 2 NH4Cl + 16 HCl This compound also reacts with a base, such as sodium hydroxide, producing [Pt(OH)6]−2 ion.

Applications A 1.2 M solution of sodium hexachloroplatinate in D2O is the most commonly chosen reference compound for chemical shifts in 195Pt NMR. The salt is chosen as it is commercially available at a lower price relative to other platinum compounds, and it possesses high solubility enabling quick acquisition of spectra.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sodium hexachloroplatinate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sodium hexachloroplatinate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sodium hexachloroplatinate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sodium hexachloroplatinate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sodium hexachloroplatinate

In research: Sodium hexachloroplatinate appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sodium hexachloroplatinate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sodium hexachloroplatinate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chloro complexes, Hexachloroplatinates, Platinum(IV) compounds, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sodium hexachloroplatinate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sodium hexachloroplatinate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sodium hexachloroplatinate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sodium hexachloroplatinate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sodium hexachloroplatinate in simple terms?

Why does Sodium hexachloroplatinate matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sodium hexachloroplatinate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sodium hexachloroplatinate.