Correlation between thermodynamic properties and coordination states of aqueous bivalent transition metal sulfates

The osmotic coefficients for CoSO₄, NiSO₄, CuSO₄, MnSO₄, and ZnSO₄ have been found to be approximately the same up to very highest concentrations, while they are significantly higher for MgSO₄. Negligible changes in the visible spectra of CoSO₄ and NiSO₄ induced by increasing concentration indicate little, if any, coordination of the sulfate anion, while the UV spectral effects indicate outer-sphere association. More distinct spectral effects are observed for CuSO₄. However, the free sulfate anion concentration is found to be the same in equimolal solutions of CoSO₄, NiSO₄, and ZnSO₄, and probably also in CuSO₄, while it is higher in the solutions of MgSO₄. The conclusion is drawn that the four isopiestic transition metal sulfates at any given molality are in corresponding coordination states. The general problem of correlation between thermodynamic properties of solutions and the coordination states of the dissolved salts is discussed.