Ammonia Hydroxide - Hosehold Ammonia

[mrred]

I'm looking at the MSDS sheet for this clear household ammonia and they list Ammonia Hydroxide to be .5 - 2.5 % ammonia hydroxide. Quite a range. Is there any direct or indirect way of finding out how much the concentration actually is without harm to life or limb?

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I'm looking at the MSDS sheet for this clear household ammonia and they list Ammonia Hydroxide to be .5 - 2.5 % ammonia hydroxide. Quite a range. Is there any direct or indirect way of finding out how much the concentration actually is without harm to life or limb?

What is commonly called "ammonium hydroxide" is more properly termed ammonia water. When ammonia is dissolved in water there is very little hydroxide ions present. This is not like sodium hydroxide which fully ionized to sodium and hydroxide ions. Since the ammonia gas escapes easily from solution it is not surprising that there is such a wide range of concentrations. The strength of an ammonia solution can be determined from its specific gravity which is commonly measured in degrees Baumé, oB or oBe.

You will need a hydrometer which measures a specific gravity or Baume value less that 1.0. There are conversion charts online to convert any value to percent ammonia. The more concentrated the solution the lower its specific gravity.

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

Stoichiometry? pH tabs? I don't think there is a discerning palate for this sort of thing. Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[mrred]

Thanks Gerry. I guess it's on the shelf for doing something with it. I was trying to make an alkali that was close to it's natural ph. I guess I can throw it's consistency out the window.

I wonder why it was used in mono baths?

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Thanks Gerry. I guess it's on the shelf for doing something with it. I was trying to make an alkali that was close to it's natural ph. I guess I can throw it's consistency out the window.

I wonder why it was used in mono baths?

If you are referring to the HC-110 monobath household ammonia is cheap and readily available. The MSDS I looked at gave 3 to 5% as the strength. Lab grade runs 25 to 28% ammonia. Besides being basic ammonia water is a strong silver halide solvent. People posting on APUG seem to have good results with Qualls formula. I would have suspected that the monobath produce a lot of dichroic fog due to the high solvent nature of the mixture.

A few years ago I got my hydrometer from American Science and Surplus for about $10 for the float and the jar. What they have varies quit a bit but they do have some interesting stuff that could be used in photography. Always worth a look. Just google on the name.

 

[nworth]

Household ammonia is a very loose term. There is no standard concentration, and these solutions generally contain additional ingredients, such as detergents. If you need ammonium hydroxide for chemistry, it is generally best to steer clear of them.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

There are two types of household ammonia. Clear ammonia should contain only ammonia gas dissolved in water. This type of ammonia is used to clean windows were you do not want any residue. Sudsy ammonia in addition of ammonia gas contains soap or detergent. As with other products it is always good to check the label first.