Making my own Copper (II) acetate

I came across a few sources online about making Copper (II) acetate, so I wanted to give it a try. The process involves letting copper react in a solution of Acidic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide.

My understanding is that the hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the copper and in turn the copper can react with the acidic acid to form Copper (II) Acetate Cu(CH₃CO₂)₂.

The shopping list for this experiment is the following:

• Hydrogen Peroxide, 3%, H₂O₂
• Acidic Acid, (Vinegar), 5-6%, CH₃COOH
• Copper wire

I decided to make two solutions, one that is room temperature and one that is heated up to just over 90°C (194°F).

In both cases I mixes equal amounts of Hydrogen Peroxide and Acidic Acid, 100 ml each, and added 5 grams of copper wire in each beaker.

The heat works as a catalyst, so the warm solution began to react as soon as the copper wire was added, almost instantly turning the liquid blue. This produced a quite strong smell of vinegar, so do this outside or in a good ventilated place.

Nothing remarkable happened when adding copper wire to the second beaker as the reaction time is much slower at lower temperatures.

The solutions was left over night and after about 9 hours both liquids have a nice blue color. I will leave it as it is during the day and see how it looks when I get back home.