To make copper sulphate you have to react copper oxide with sulphuric acid. Why can't you just use copper with acid?
Copper is below hydrogen in the reactivity series. Therefore it is unable to displace the hydrogen from the acid and produce the sulphate salt plus hydrogen. ( this is a complicated way of saying that copper does not react with an acid to produce hydrogen) If you react copper with sulphuric acid you get: Cu (s) + 2 H2SO4 (aq) → CuSO4 (aq) + SO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l) You have to use hot concentrated sulphuric acid in order for this reaction to proceed. Yes, CuSO4 is produced, but it is inefficient in the use of acid . and you produce SO2 which is not pleasant in the laboratory or factory. Much better to go the oxide route: CuO + H2SO4 → CuSO4 + H2O
How Is Copper Sulphate Made
Copper will not displace hydrogen from an acid, due to it's low position in the electrochemical series ECS. However you can use copper with concentrated sulphuric acid to make copper sulphate. This reaction actually occurs in two stages. First the sulphuric acid oxidises the copper to cupric oxide then this reacts to form copper sulphate. So it is not the normal metal + acid = hydrogen + metal salt. The reaction in total is, 3Cu + 8H2SO4 -----> 3 CuSO4 + 8H2O + 5SO2 The oxygen doesn't balance sorry but it is a long time ago since I did this.
Its a tidier reaction By adding oxygen, as found in copper oxide, the byproduct is water!
