Hello I have a question about a reaction. I have to give the final products of mixed copper (II) sulfate, sodium chloride and finally copper. My teacher told me that it is formed a copper chloride, but which of the two that exists?

And how would it be the equations for the reactions?
I really don't understand what is the purpose of the copper here, if someone can explain me I would really be grateful.

You cannot obtain CuCl2

mixing CuSO4 and NaCl because both are very soluble, and neither of the product species are insoluble.

Now if you teacher had asked if calcium chloride, instead of sodium chloride, you would get CuCl2 (aq) because CaSO4 is insoluble.

Or, your teacher wants the product to be CuCl (s), which is partially soluble. But I have some difficulty in that without predicting copper complex(s) first. So I dont know what your teacher is aiming for.

To determine the products of the reaction between copper (II) sulfate and sodium chloride, we need to understand the nature of the reactants and the possible chemical reactions that can occur.

First, let's write the balanced equation for the reaction between copper (II) sulfate (CuSO4) and sodium chloride (NaCl):

CuSO4 + 2NaCl → CuCl2 + Na2SO4

In this reaction, copper (II) sulfate reacts with sodium chloride to form copper (II) chloride and sodium sulfate. As you mentioned, there are two possible forms of copper (II) chloride: CuCl2 and CuCl.

To determine which form of copper (II) chloride is produced, we need additional information. The reaction you described involves the mixed copper (II) sulfate, which means it may contain a mixture of copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4·5H2O) and anhydrous copper (II) sulfate (CuSO4). The presence of water molecules affects the final product.

If the mixed copper (II) sulfate contains water, the reaction will occur differently. The water molecules will hydrolyze copper (II) chloride, resulting in the formation of hydrochloric acid, which will react with copper (II) sulfate to produce copper (II) oxide:

CuCl2 + H2O → 2HCl + CuO

In this case, the final product is copper (II) oxide (CuO). However, if the mixed copper (II) sulfate does not contain water, the reaction will proceed as previously mentioned, resulting in the formation of copper (II) chloride (CuCl2).

Therefore, to determine which form of copper (II) chloride is produced, you need to know whether the mixed copper (II) sulfate contains water or not. If it does contain water, the final product is copper (II) oxide (CuO). Otherwise, the final product is copper (II) chloride (CuCl2).

It is worth noting that the purpose of adding copper to this reaction is likely to observe and study the behavior of copper in different chemical reactions. Copper can participate in various redox reactions and exhibit different oxidation states, providing a practical and educational example for students to learn about chemical reactions and the behavior of transition metals.