Ammonium Hydroxide

Ammonium hydroxide (also known as aqua ammonia) is mainly produced by a reaction of ammonia gas with water. The most well-known process that utilizes ammonia is the Haber-Bosch process, for which Fritz Haber won the Nobel prize in Chemistry in 1918. Without this process, the quantities of world food production today would not be possible. Other uses are in sanitizers/cleaners, plastics, rubber, chemical synthesis, pesticides, and dyes.   

In the laboratory, ammonium hydroxide can be available as a concentrate of approximately 28-30% by weight, or 14.5 normal/molar. This strength is then diluted down to make normality/molarity solutions. The most frequently used ammonium hydroxide solutions are 0.1N and 1.0N. Unlike the stronger sodium and potassium hydroxides, ammonium hydroxide is considered a weak base.

The preferred indicator for ammonium hydroxide standardized solutions is methyl red. The two common acids used to titrate ammonium hydroxide solutions are hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. When working with ammonium hydroxide, one should work as quickly as possible, as the vapors are relatively volatile and can result in erroneous titration values. 

Exaxol offers a variety of ammonium hydroxide solutions, either standardized to a specific normality or as a percent value. All standardized normality solutions are within 0.2% accuracy of stated value and conform to ISO 17025 and ISO 9001 requirements . These are typically in stock and ready to ship promptly.