Qualitative analysis
How to do salt analysis · Viva · Quiz
To analyse the given inorganic salt for one acidic and one basic radical.
| Experiment | Observation | Inference |
|---|---|---|
| Warm the solid salt with dilute H₂SO₄ | Brown fumes of NO₂ are evolved | NO₂⁻ may be present |
| Confirmatory Tests | ||
| Potassium Iodide Starch Test Take evolved gas and add KI + starch solution acidified with acetic acid | Blue colour appears | NO₂⁻ is confirmed |
| Sulphanilic Acid / 1-Naphthylamine Test Acidify 1 mL of water extract with acetic acid and add sulphanilic acid solution followed by 1-naphthylamine reagent | Red colour is formed | NO₂⁻ is confirmed |
| Experiment | Observation | Inference |
|---|---|---|
| Original solution + Dil. HCl + NH₄Cl solid + NH₄OH | White gelatinous precipitate | Al³⁺ may be present |
| Confirmatory Tests | ||
| Dissolve white precipitate in dilute HCl and divide into two parts | To the first part, add sodium hydroxide and warm. A white gelatinous precipitate dissolves in excess sodium hydroxide solution | Aluminium is confirmed |
| Blue Lake Test To the second part, add few drops of blue litmus solution and then NH₄OH dropwise along the sides of the test tube | A blue floating mass appears in colourless solution | Presence of Al³⁺ is confirmed |
The given salt contains Al³⁺ as the cation (basic radical) and NO₂⁻ as the anion (acidic radical). The salt is Aluminium Nitrite (Al(NO₂)₃).