Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Methyl orange is made by diazotising sulphanilic acid, (), and coupling the salt with N,N-dimethylaniline, (). The sequence is a standard undergraduate preparation of a laboratory indicator. Assume that the sodium nitrite and the acid are used in exactly the amounts needed. The product is the sodium salt of the dye, (). A student starts with of sulphanilic acid. The diazotisation uses sodium nitrite (), and the whole sequence has a yield of . Methyl orange is also an indicator, with for the change from the red acid form to the yellow base form. Find the mass of sodium nitrite needed, the mass of N,N-dimethylaniline needed, the most dye that could form, and the mass collected. Then find the ratio of the yellow form to the red form at pH 4.40.
Coupling joins the diazonium ion to the para position of a phenol or an aromatic amine through an azo group, . The coupling partner reacts in its deprotonated form: the phenoxide ion or the free amine. The fraction in that form is . For an indicator, .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Amount. .
Step 2. Sodium nitrite. .
Step 3. N,N-Dimethylaniline. .
Step 4. Most dye. .
Step 5. Collected. .
Step 6. The indicator. .
Answer: , , , and .
Check. At pH 4.40, the top of the usual colour range, the yellow form is about 8.5 times the red form, so the solution looks yellow. At pH 3.47 the two forms would be equal, and the colour would be orange.
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