Salt metathesis reaction

A salt metathesis reaction, sometimes called a double displacement reaction, is a chemical process involving the exchange of bonds between two reacting chemical species which results in the creation of products with similar or identical bonding affiliations. This reaction is represented by the general scheme: AB + CD -> AD + CB The bond between the reacting species can be either ionic or covalent. Classically, these reactions result in the precipitation of one product. In older literature, the term double decomposition is frequently encountered. The term double decomposition is more specifically used when at least one of the substances does not dissolve in the solvent, as the ligand or ion exchange takes place in the solid state of the reactant. For example: AX(aq) + BY(s) → AY(aq) + BX(s). Salt metathesis is a common technique for exchanging counterions. The choice of reactants is guided by a solubility chart or lattice energy. HSAB theory can also be used to predict the products of a metathesis reaction. Salt metathesis is often employed to obtain salts that are soluble in organic solvents. Illustrative is the conversion of sodium perrhenate to the tetrabutylammonium salt: NaReO4 + N(C4H9)4Cl → N(C4H9)4[ReO4] + NaCl The tetrabutylammonium salt precipitates from the aqueous solution. It is soluble in dichloromethane. Salt metathesis can be conducted in nonaqueous solution, illustrated by the conversion of ferrocenium tetrafluoroborate to a more lipophilic salt containing the tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate anion: [Fe(C5H5)2]BF4 + NaB(C6F5)4 → [Fe(C5H5)2]B(C6F5)4 + NaBF4 When the reaction is conducted in dichloromethane, the salt NaBF4 precipitates and the B(C6F5)4- salt remains in solution. Metathesis reactions can occur between two inorganic salts when one product is insoluble in water. For example, the precipitation of silver chloride from a mixture of silver nitrate and cobalt hexammine chloride delivers the nitrate salt of the cobalt complex: 3 AgNO3 + [Co(NH3)6]Cl3 → 3 AgCl + Co(NH3)63 The reactants need not be highly soluble for metathesis reactions to take place.