Abstract
IT is a well-known fact that the colour exhibited by one and the same body in solution depends more or less on the nature of the solvent. In some cases this phenomenon can be satisfactorily accounted for by electrolytic dissociation, but in the majority of cases hitherto examined this explanation is not admissible. Perhaps the most striking of these is that of iodine, the solutions of which are coloured variously violet, blue, brown, and yellow. The hypothesis has been put forward that the variation in absorption might be due to the formation of molecular aggregates of variable complexity; but this, at least in the case of iodine, has been rendered very improbable by the recent researches of Beckmann and others. Nor does the hypothesis that the variation may be due to a varying degree of combination with the solvent seem much more promising.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
DONNAN, F. Dependence of the Colour of Solutions on the Nature of the Solvent. Nature 54, 55 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/054055a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/054055a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.