What is a solute that would give a water solution whose density is greater than 1.6⋅g⋅cm−3?

1 Answer
anor277
Jun 11, 2016

You want a water solution denser than 1.6⋅g⋅cm−3?

Explanation:

You've tried with salt, but sodium chloride is not particularly soluble in water. A saturated solution of salt in water has a density (ρ) of approx. 1.2⋅g⋅mL−1. This density does not change much with temperature. For reasons I am not going to go into, halite dissolution in water does not vary with temperature.

There might be other (and cheaper!) alternatives, but a polytungstate solution might fit your requirements. These solutions have very high densities (approx. 3⋅g⋅mL−1). Zinc chloride solutions can also have very high densities, but you will have to dig for the details.

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