NATURE OF THE COPPER(I) CARBONYL FORMED BY ACID CUPROUS CHLORIDE IN THE PRESENCE OF CARBON-MONOXIDE

Acid solutions of cuprous chloride have long been used to absorb carbon monoxide,1 but in spite of a history of over 125 years the exact nature of the copper complex or complexes formed in solution2 when CO is absorbed has never been satisfactorily determined. Among the formulas proposed are a cation3a Cu(CO)+, an anion3b, a carbonyl halide3c Cu(CO)Cl, and the dimer3d Cu2(CO)Cl2. During the investigation of methods for increasing the efficiency of the CO/O2 fuel cell,4 the interaction of CO with a series of solutions containing Cu(I) in hydrochloric acid was investigated by several electrochemical techniques. Some of the potentiometric measurements resulting from this study have been interpreted so as to define the most probable formula of the species formed in acid cuprous chloride when CO is absorbed. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.