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Things You'll Need
Instructions
Schweizer's Reagent
Add small amounts of water to Drano, slowly. Allow the mixture to react. Once the reaction is finished, add more water. Do this experiment in a well-ventilated area. You can occasionally run cold water outside of the beaker. Add water to the beaker until the blue solution has disappeared.
Wait until the solution has turned brown and quickly pour the brown solution into a filter to remove excess solution and any floating products. This helps prevent your final product from being contaminated.
Prepare a second filter to pour solution in. Repeat the filtration process two to three times until all solid products are removed. Once you're done filtering the solution, run cold water around the filter to cool down the solution. Pour the solution in a beaker.
Refresh the beaker by adding 5g copper sulfate. Dissolve the copper sulfate with 50ml distilled water and gently swish around the solution.
Add the Drano sodium hydroxide solution to the copper sulfate solution. You will see a hydrated form of copper hydroxide.
Remove the copper hydroxide from the liquid. Prepare a filter and filter the solution through. Once the liquid part is removed, you're left with the copper hydroxide, which is in a filter.
Remove the filter with the gooey copper hydroxide. Place the gooey mixture in a small beaker, using a utensil such as a measuring scoop. Slowly add ammonia to the beaker with the gooey solution, but don't add all the ammonia. Pour the mixture into the rest of the ammonia that's in a conical flask when the mixture becomes smooth. Place a top on the conical flask and shake the mixture gently in a circular motion. Remove the top. Allow the mixture to sit for 1/2 hour.
Create Rayon
Place pieces of tissue in a large beaker. Draw small portions of the reagent into a dropper tool, then soak the tissue paper -- cellulose -- until your paper is gooey.
Add more tissue paper and reagent mixture until you have at least 2 inches of solution in the beaker.
Add 1g copper sulfate to the solution, which will turn a dark blue color. If you see copper hydroxide forming, add ammonia.
Wait a month to filter out the solution. The solution will be in the complex cellulose state in the Schweitzer's reagent.
Remove the solution from its complex state. Add portions of the solution to sulfuric acid. When complex cellulose hits sulfuric acid, it starts to create fibers, and later a large of amount of cellulose starts to form.
Filter the solution to get the rayon. Quickly filter the solution, because rayon will eventually react with cellulose and decompose the cellulose. The rayon will be in the filter; you'll see long fibers. Rinse the fibers to remove any yellow coloring on the fibers.