Preparation and characterization of solid Co(II) pyrimidinolates in a multifaceted undergraduate laboratory experiment

The preparation and characterization of solid Co(II) pyrimidinolates can be simplified for a typical multifaceted undergraduate laboratory experiment. Such experiment is the first integrated set of accessible laboratory experiments coupling two important aspects. The experiment involves the preparation of the hydrated Co(II) complexes. It was showed that a portion of the project can be successfully performed even at high-school level, provided that simple glassware, oven and a UV-vis spectrophotometer are available. Performing the synthesis of the complexes and their minimal characterization by complexometry, thermal treatment and colorimetric analysis should take no more than 12 hours of experimental work. The experiment raised some interests in students.