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Potassium manganate

physical science Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Potassium manganate is a green salt. It is an inorganic compound. This means it does not come from living things.

Sometimes people mix it up with potassium permanganate. But these two are different. One is green and the other is purple. This change from purple to green makes them look like a chemical chameleon.

Factories use a set of steps to make it. They mix manganese dioxide with air and potassium hydroxide. This makes a green melt. They can also use potassium nitrate instead of air.

In a lab, scientists use heat to make it too. They heat purple potassium permanganate crystals. This makes the salt turn green. It also makes oxygen gas. This is a way to make oxygen for a lab.

Scientists can also use iodide to change the color. The purple color turns green when they do this. You can tell if manganese is in a sample by heating it. If it turns green, then manganese is there. This happens because the salt absorbs light at 610 nm.

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