Chemicals: Core Mid‑importance

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What reaction will occur at anode in the electrolysis of potassium dichromate? What product will be formed?Superdvd 10:53, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Why is Potassium dichromate used as a preservative for artifacts when it is highly corrosive?

Acidified potassium dichromate (with sulphuric acid) is used for cleaning glassware - and not just potassium dichromate

Someone's added poorly-spelled gibberish to the end. Anyone know what's useful there and what's not?

The above posts are unsigned.

Acidified potassium dichromate was used for cleaning laboratory glassware but not any more, at least in the UK, because of health concerns. It has been replaced by detergents, such as "Decon 90". Biscuittin 11:02, 2 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Erm, just wondering why this article is being tagged as too lengthy....If I don't get a response in a few days, I'll take off the tag, it looks horrendous. : ) Delta 01:55, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, those tags are ridiculous - they just appear on talk pages, perhaps with a tiny little icon hidden somewhere discrete in the article.

I do, however, think that parts of this article are excessively verbose. The section on ethanol titration is unnecessarily detailed − the exact method is not required, since Wikipedia is not a how-to manual.

I'm going to attempt a clean up.

Ben 16:38, 7 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've made it even more brief. It needs context - is it used industrially, etc? If not, we might as well do away with the section because it can be adapted to many contexts, and it is no longer significant. --Rifleman 82 02:26, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why should homeopathic use be deleted? [1] Whig 01:54, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It is notable as an ingredient of HeadOn and this text was already present under the Hazards section before I moved it into its own section and fleshed it out. [2] According to the HeadOn article it is a headache remedy and not only for migraines. When used in homeopathic medicine, potassium dichromate is also called kalium bichromicum.[3]

Can this text be reinserted without objection? Whig 08:24, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

First off, is this actually used outside of HeadOn, as a homeopathic treatment, in any significant amount? Secondly, this is probably the least notable thing about this chemical that we'd be mentioning: if it goes in, it should go in at the end of the article, not before important chemical uses. Adam Cuerden ^talk 09:46, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Kali bich is most certainly a very important remedy in homeopathy and its use should be included. It is in very frequent use for sinusitis, catarrh and hayfever especially were there is much thick sticky mucus or sputum difficult to dislodge or hard, tightly adherent crusts in the nasal passages difficult and painful to remove. These are its strongest features. See:[4] cheers Peter morrell 12:04, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I've put it back more or less as it was but below other uses. We could also add something along the lines of the uses Peter lists. As far as this being a "non-notable use" there are probably more people who come into awareness or contact with it as homeopathic medicine than the chemical in its raw state. Whig 19:08, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've removed this chunk, because this procedure uses chromic acid, not dichromate: --Rifleman 82 08:31, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

K₂Cr₂O₇ is used as an oxidizing agent in many chemical applications, and is often used for cleaning laboratory glassware of organic contaminants, usually in a solution with concentrated sulfuric acid. This solution must not be used to clean the glass tubes used in NMR spectroscopy, as residual contamination of the glass by the paramagnetic Chromium disrupts the NMR procedure.

Google books gives many hits for "potassium dichromate" cleaning glassware. I think either of them could be used, since the effective active ingredient is the same, Cr(VI). Do you know of any reason why potassium dichromate should not be used? I'm not an experimentalist, so I don't know firsthand. --Itub 17:51, 15 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is surely wholly trivial. I completely fail to see the relevance. Only here to push the usual POV, IMO. Moreschi ^{If you've written a quality article...} 20:52, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The only person POV pushing is you and cuerden. It is a major remedy in homeopathy period. If you knew anything about the subject you would know this. Peter morrell 21:20, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It may be a major remedy in homeopathy. Is that relevant? Moreschi ^{If you've written a quality article...} 21:31, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Absolutely it is relevant; it is an actual use of potassium dichromate in the real world. A short paragraph on that does no harm whatever in this article EXCEPT to someone obsessed with deleting all mention of homeopathy in this WP, which he has all but admitted to in the past. Peter morrell 21:35, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, I guess one sentence, perhaps two, wouldn't hurt. Curiously however, the paragraph as written and deleted made it look as though the homeopathic use of this chemical was responsible and wise - it was completely uncritical, except by very vague implication. My point is that the paragraph should have made the point that this is an actual misuse of potassium dichromate in the real world - not that you would agree, but scientific consensus does. Moreschi ^{If you've written a quality article...} 21:40, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I look forward to seeing it restored by you in an edited NPOV form, then. Peter morrell 21:42, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's not the use of very much potassium dichromate, though, is it? Adam Cuerden ^talk 22:26, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Heh. It should probably get a mention though. A lot of consumers apparently believe that it's a remedy when diluted to practically nil. That's notable. Cool Hand Luke 22:31, 30 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]