Potassium permanganate

Potassium permanganate is an inorganic chemical compound and medication. As a medication it is used for cleaning wounds and dermatitis. Potassium permanganate is an inorganic chemical compound and medication. As a medication it is used for cleaning wounds and dermatitis. It has the chemical formula KMnO4 and is a salt consisting of K+ and MnO−4 ions. It is a strong oxidizing agent. It dissolves in water to give intensely pink or purple solutions, the evaporation of which leaves prismatic purplish-black glistening crystals. In 2000, worldwide production was estimated at 30,000 tonnes. In this compound, manganese is in the +7 oxidation state. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$0.01 per gram of powder. Almost all applications of potassium permanganate exploit its oxidizing properties. As a strong oxidant that does not generate toxic byproducts, KMnO4 has many niche uses. Potassium permanganate is used for a number of skin conditions. This includes fungal infections of the foot, impetigo, pemphigus, superficial wounds, dermatitis, and tropical ulcers. It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. Potassium permanganate is used extensively in the water treatment industry. It is used as a regeneration chemical to remove iron and hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) from well water via a 'Manganese Greensand' Filter. 'Pot-Perm' is also obtainable at pool supply stores and is used additionally to treat waste water. Historically it was used to disinfect drinking water and can turn the water pink. It currently finds application in the control of nuisance organisms such as zebra mussels in fresh water collection and treatment systems. Aside from its use in water treatment, the other major application of KMnO4 is as a reagent for the synthesis of organic compounds. Significant amounts are required for the synthesis of ascorbic acid, chloramphenicol, saccharin, isonicotinic acid, and pyrazinoic acid. Called Baeyer's reagent after the German organic chemist Adolf von Baeyer, KMnO4 is used in qualitative organic analysis to test for the presence of unsaturation. The reagent is an alkaline solution of potassium permanganate. Reaction with double or triple bonds (-C=C- or -C≡C-) causes the color to fade from purplish-pink to brown. Aldehydes and formic acid (and formic acid esters) also give a positive test. The test is antiquated. Potassium permanganate can be used to quantitatively determine the total oxidizable organic material in an aqueous sample. The value determined is known as the permanganate value. In analytical chemistry, a standardized aqueous solution of KMnO4 is sometimes used as an oxidizing titrant for redox titrations (permanganometry). As potassium permanganate is titrated, the solution becomes a light shade of magenta, which darkens as excess of the titrant is added to the solution. In a related way, it is used as a reagent to determine the Kappa number of wood pulp. For the standardization of KMnO4 solutions, reduction by oxalic acid is often used.