What is Potassium Permanganate?
Potassium permanganate is a useful inorganic material whose chemical formula is KMnO4 and the molecular weight would be 158.034 g/mol approximately. Being an ionic compound, it is composed of potassium cation and the permanganate anions.
Potassium Permanganate Structure
Here, one manganese atom is connected with four oxygen atoms around either through double or single bonds as given below.
Potassium Permanganate Chemical Formula
The chemical compound can be prepared industrially by reacting manganese dioxide (MnO2) with potassium hydroxide in the air at high temperatures to give potassium manganate (K2MnO4) and when it undergoes the electrolytic oxidation then it releases the potassium permanganate product.
2 MnO2 + 4 KOH + O2 → 2 K2MnO4 + 2 H2O2 K2MnO4 + H2O → 2 KMnO4 + 2 KOH + H2
Potassium Permanganate Molecular
Look at the physical properties, the chemical compound is bright purple crystalline solid and odorless too with a density of 2.70 g/mL, and a melting point of 240 °C. it can be found commercially too in the form of tablets, crystals, or powder etc.
The next section is the chemical properties of the compound. The product dissolves quickly in water to give a bright purple, magenta type solution. This is a strong oxidizer too and releases stain when comes in contact with skin, clothing etc. Under stable temperature conditions, it will decompose to give MnO2 and reacts violently with concentrated sulfuric acid.
About Potassium Permanganate
The product has antiseptic properties and considered non-toxic at dilute concentration. It can be used for fruit preservation, water treatment, organic synthesis, photography and more. At high concentrations, the product could be dangerous sometimes.