potassium permanganate

[Buell]

What is potassium permanganate?

[gen2]

KMnO4

[mefan]

A purple crystalline compound with a metallic sheen. It is soluble in water, in acetone and in methanol. It is decomposed by ethanol.

Potassium permanganate is prepared by fusing manganese dioxide with potassium hydroxide to form the potassium manganate and then electrolysing the manganate solution using iron electrodes at about 60 degC.

Potassium permanganate is widely used as a powerful oxidizing agent, as a disinfectant in a variety of applications, and as an analytical oxidant reagent in redox titrations.

www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/chem/dolchem/html/comp/kmno4.html

[brachiopod]

...and it stains your fingers like *******. Initially a nice, vivid purple colour, but this quickly oxidises to brown and takes about a week to wash off.

[brachiopod]

Whoops, didn't think it was that rude.... sounded a bit like thuggery!!

[fo3nix]

Mr bean mentions it on his videos! (the purple one)

[goldenboy]

if mixed in a ball of screwed up paper with antifreeze will combust. causes pigeons to explode when fed to them. (as told to me by my dad who was a bored airman in aden in 1967)

[veritymoon]

its great to dab on the end of dogs nails whaen there cut too short but it stains really bad!

[Gef]

Sorry brachi but the purple permanganate is quickly REDUCED not oxidised.

[brachiopod]

Hmmmm, manganese (VII) to manganese (IV) doh! It's reduction isn't it?

Cheers, Gef !! (took your time, though ! ;>)

[stevie21]

Where do I get some from so that I can feed it to pigeons?

[itsallyellow]

For some reason my dad uses it to make the pond clearer and kill algea without harming the fish. Any ideas how it does this?

[Gef]

Sorry brachi only get here once a day. Nice to see someone understand oxidation states (or numbers). Cheers.

[-=BigD=-]

Years back when i was a scout, our scout leader gave us some for our survival kits. (he was ex-SAS or so the legend goes, and was in the REME at the time, we were all forces kids)

He told us (like mefan mentions) you could mix it with a some water to disinfect wounds, to pruify water if desperate, mix with sugar and it was an useful form of tinder for starting fires, use it to spell S O S in snow (turns it purple like it does the water, obviously)