Abstract
The dependence of the colour of iodine solutions upon the nature of the solvent is generally believed to be due to the presence of loosely bound iodine-solvent complexes, or ‘solvates’, in the brown solutions (for example, in ethanol) and of ‘unsolvated’ diatomic iodine molecules in the violet solutions (for example, in carbon tetrachloride)1. The nature, however, of this ‘solvation’ remains obscure. It is obviously not a simple electrostatic solvation, for it has little to do with the dielectric constant of the solvent; nor would such a solvation serve to account for the marked difference in chemical properties between the violet and brown solutions.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Lachmann, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 25, 50 (1903).
Gillam and Morton, Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 132, 152 (1931).
Gillam, Trans. Farad. Soc., 29, 1132 (1933).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
FAIRBROTHER, F. Colour of Iodine Solutions. Nature 160, 87 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160087a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160087a0
This article is cited by
-
Spectra of Iodine and Bromine Solutions
Nature (1949)
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.