15 Facts on H2SO4 + Mn3O4: What, How To Balance & FAQs

Mn₃O₄ is a metal basic oxide so it can easily react with a strong acid like H₂SO₄ under normal conditions. Let us find the mechanism behind the reaction of H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄.

Mn₃O₄ or manganese oxide is a mixed valence oxide of Mn, where central metal is in +2 and +3 oxidation state. Mn₃O₄ is a normal spinal compound where the metal having an oxidation state tries to occupy the octahedral site and a lower oxidation state is adopted in the tetrahedral site. H₂SO₄ acts as oxidising agent.

The reaction between H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ does not require any catalyst or temperature, it can proceed on its own. Let us discuss the mechanism of the reaction between sulfuric acid and manganese, the reaction enthalpy, the type of reaction, product formation, etc in the following part of the article.

1. What is the product of H₂SO₄ and Mn₃O₄?

Manganese sulfate is formed as the major product when H₂SO₄ and Mn₃O₄ are reacted together along with water molecules and oxygen gas will be liberated.

H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ = MnSO₄ + H₂O + O₂

2. What type of reaction is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄?

The reaction between H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ is an example of a double displacement reaction along with redox and precipitation reactions. It is also an acid-base neutralization reaction.

3. How to balance H₂SO₄ + Mn3O4?

We have to balance the equation, 

H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ = MnSO₄ + H₂O +O₂ in the following way:

• First, we label all the reactants and products by A, B, C, D, and E as there are only five different atoms obtained for this reaction and the reaction looks like this: A H₂SO₄ + B Mn₃O₄ = C MnSO₄ + D H₂O + E O₂
• Equating all the coefficients for all the same type of elements by rearranging them
• After the rearrangement of all the coefficients of the same elements by their stoichiometric proportion we get, H = 2A = 2D, S = A = C, O = 4A = 4B = 4C = D = 2E, Mn = 3B = C
• Using the Gaussian elimination and equating all the equations we get, A = 6, B = 2, C = 6, D = 6, and E = 1.
• Now write the whole equation in the balanced form
•  The overall balanced equation will be,
  6H₂SO₄ + 2Mn₃O₄ = 6MnSO₄+ 6H₂O +O₂

4. H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ titration

To estimate the quantity of manganese we can perform a titration between Mn₃O₄ and H₂SO₄

Apparatus used

We need a burette, conical flask, burette holder, volumetric flask, and beakers for this titration.

Titre and titrant

H₂SO₄ acts as a titrant which is taken in the burette and the molecule to be analyzed are Mn₃O₄ which is taken in a conical flask.

Indicator

The whole titration is done in acidic pH as the concentration of H₂SO₄ is high and for this reaction, Mn₃O₄ acts as a self-indicator because it is a colored solution and in different pH, it changes color.

Procedure

The burette was filled with standardized H₂SO₄ and Mn₃O₄ was taken in a conical flask along with the respective indicator. H₂SO₄ is added dropwise to the conical flask and the flask was shaking constantly. After a certain time when the endpoint arrived, Mn₃O₄ changes its color.

We repeat the titration several times for better results and then we estimate manganese as well as sulfate quantity by the formula V₁S₁ = V₂S₂.

5. H₂SO₄+ Mn₃O₄ net ionic equation

The net ionic equation between H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ is as follows,

H⁺ + SO₄^2- + 2Mn³⁺ + Mn²⁺ + 4O^2- = Mn²⁺ + SO₄^2- + H⁺ + OH^– + O₂

To derive the net ionic equation the following steps are required,

• First H₂SO₄ will be ionized in proton and sulfate ions as it is a strong electrolyte
• After that Mn₃O₄ also dissociates to Mn²⁺ and Mn³⁺ as it is mixed valence molecule and O^2-.
• After that, the product MnSO₄ also dissociates to Mn²⁺ which is d⁵ stable configuration and corresponding SO₄^2-.
• Water is also ionized to H⁺ and OH^-.
• O₂ remains in its gaseous form.

6. H₂SO₄+ Mn₃O₄ conjugate pairs

H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ conjugate pairs will be the corresponding de-protonated and protonated form of that particular species which are listed below-

• Conjugate pair of H₂SO₄ = SO₄^2-
• Conjugate pair of OH^– = H₂O

7. H₂SO₄ and Mn₃O₄ intermolecular forces

The intermolecular force between H₂SO₄ is an electrostatic, covalent force. For Mn₃O₄, it is ionic interaction, and a metallic bond is present. In MnSO₄, strong ionic interactions are present along with dipole force, and for water, H-bonding is present and oxygen van der waal’s force is present.

8. H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ reaction enthalpy

H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄  reaction enthalpy is +3145.66 KJ/mol which can be obtained by the formula enthalpy of products – enthalpy of reactants, and here the change in enthalpy is positive.

9. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ a buffer solution?

The reaction between H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ gives a buffer solution of MnSO₄ and H₂O and the mixture of two species can control the pH of the solution even after adding acid or alkali in it.

10. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ a complete reaction?

The reaction between H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ is complete because it gives one complete product MnSO₄ along with the water molecule and oxygen gas. So, the reactants get utilized.

11. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ an exothermic or endothermic reaction?

The reaction H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ is endothermic in terms of thermodynamics first law. So, the reaction absorbs more energy and temperature from the surrounding which helps to proceed with the reaction, where δH is always positive.

12. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ a redox reaction?

The reaction between H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ is a redox reaction because in this reaction many elements get reduced and oxidized. Here, Mn gets reduced and S gets oxidized.

13. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ a precipitation reaction

The reaction H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ is a precipitation reaction because MnSO₄ gets precipitated in the solution and is not soluble in the reaction mixture.

14. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ reversible or irreversible reaction?

The reaction between H₂SO₄+ Mn₃O₄ is irreversible because we get oxygen which is formed as gas. When a gaseous molecule is produced then the entropy of the reaction increases and the equilibrium shifts toward the right-hand side and proceeds in the forward direction.

15. Is H₂SO₄ + Mn₃O₄ displacement reaction?

The reaction between H₂SO₄+ Mn₃O₄ is an example of a double displacement reaction because in the reaction Mn displaced  H⁺ in H₂SO₄ and H⁺ also displaced Mn from Mn₃O₄.

16. How to balance H₂SO₄+ H₂O₂ + Mn₃O₄ = H₂O + O₂ + MnSO₄

We have to balance the above equation in the following way,

• First, we label all the reactants and products by A, B, C, D, E, and F as there are only six different atoms obtained for this reaction and the reaction looks like this: 
• A H₂SO₄ + B H₂O₂ +C Mn₃O₄ = D MnSO₄ + E H₂O + F O₂
• Equating all the coefficients for all the same type of elements by rearranging them
• After the rearrangement of all the coefficients of the same elements by their stoichiometric proportion we get, H = 2A = 2B = 2E, S = A = D, O = 4A = 2B = 4C = 4D = E = 2F, Mn = 3C = D
• Using the Gaussian elimination and equating all the equations we get, A = 3, B = 1, C = 1, D = 3, E = 4, and F = 1.
• Now write the whole equation in the balanced form
• The overall balanced equation will be,
  3 H₂SO₄ + H₂O₂ + Mn₃O₄ = 3 MnSO₄ + 4 H₂O + O₂

Conclusion

H₂SO₄ and Mn₃O₄ reactions mainly give us MnSO₄ along with water and oxygen gas. So, this reaction is very much important for the production of oxygen gas. Mn­₃O₄ is an organometallic spinal compound that can be used in nanomaterial for electric conductance.

Biswarup Chandra Dey

Hi……I am Biswarup Chandra Dey, I have completed my Master’s in Chemistry from the Central University of Punjab. My area of specialization is Inorganic Chemistry. Chemistry is not all about reading line by line and memorizing, it is a concept to understand in an easy way and here I am sharing with you the concept about chemistry which I learn because knowledge is worth to share it.