Detailed Product Description:

Potassium ferricyanide is a bright red salt, soluble in water, slightly

soluble in alcohol.  In solution it displays a green-yellow fluorescence.

Grade/Purity:

This is Reagent Grade material with a minimum purity of 99%.

Applications:

Potassium ferricyanide is used as an oxidizing agent to remove silver

from negatives and positives, a process called dot etching.  In color

photography, potassium ferricyanide is used to reduce the size of color

dots without reducing their number, as a kind of manual color correction.  

The compound is also used to temper iron and steel, in electroplating,

dyeing wool, as a laboratory reagent, and as a mild oxidizing agent in

organic chemistry.  

It is also used in photography with sodium thiosulfate (hypo) to reduce

the density of a negative where the mixture is known as Farmer's reducer.

Background:

In the 19th century it was used for reading palimpsests and old manuscripts.  

The compound has widespread use in blueprint drawing and in photography

(Cyanotype process).  Also used in Iron and copper toning.

Potassium ferricyanide is also one of two compounds present in ferroxyl

indicator solution (along with phenolphthalein) which turns blue (Prussian blue)

in the presence of Fe2+ ions, and which can therefore be used to detect metal

oxidation that will lead to rust.  

Prussian blue, the deep blue pigment in blue printing, is generated by

the reaction of potassium ferricyanide with ferrous (Fe2+) ions.

Precautions:

Though the compound is low in toxicity, upon heating it decomposes

to evolve highly toxic fumes.

Download MSDS below.  Read and understand precautions fully before

Using this substance.

Click here to download MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)

Packaging: