Talk:Osmium tetroxide

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[edit] News sources

Anome, you changed the line I added to suggest that is just ABC reporting on this threat... but Google News shows that everyone is reporting it now. Is ABC the sole originator of the story? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 12:06, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC)

To answer my own question, most reports do simply refer to ABC, except the BBC, which seems to imply it has further information. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 12:09, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Page name

This is a bit late, but is osmium(VIII) oxide really a better name for this page than osmium tetroxide or osmium tetraoxide? Physchim62 (talk) 15:14, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

I support renaming this page, I would go all the way - osmium tetroxide.--Smokefoot 22:14, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
That was its old name, before someone moved it... Physchim62 (talk) 16:18, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
I would also go for Osmium tetroxide. It is unambiguous, more decriptive of structure than osmium(VIII) oxide, and it is what people call this thing when they talk about it, or use it in an equation. ChemistHans 19:01, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
Add me to the list of people who would prefer this page to be called osmium tetroxide. That's what everyone calls it!
Ben 19:04, 23 August 2007 (UTC)


I renamed it. Everyone's a winner.
Ben 19:06, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Refining

Interesting. I've looked at the citation and what is stated here is, indeed, a faithful reproduction of the citation. Not how its done though; the citation is a garbled combination of two different methods. Bulk native ore is roasted in a tube furnace while drawing air over the heated material generating OsO4 directly which is dissolved in aqueous NaOH in bubblers. The solution is saturated with KOH then methanol or ethanol added to precipitate Potassium Osmate as a violet powder. Having recovered the majority of the Os in this way the remaining material is roasted in Chlorine to produce anhydrous IrCl3 as a prelude to porcessing the ore for the Ir. Any remaining Os is usually ignored as there is little market for it. In the case of Aqua Regia insolubles, they are fused with NaOH and Na2O2 in a 3% Nickel steel crucible at cherry-red heat for 8 to 12 hours and poured onto a cold surface to form a sheet. the sheet is dissolved in cold water which is decanted to remove the majority of the NaOH. The residue is treated with a light Aqua Regia which generates OsO4 which can be recovered by an alkaline scrubber if desired. Use of this method to recover osmium is rare and it is primarily intended to render Ir into hydrated oxides for further processing. Drrocket 19:30, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] peer reviewer output

The following suggestions were generated by a semi-automatic javascript program, and might not be applicable for the article in question.

You may wish to browse through User:AndyZ/Suggestions for further ideas. Thanks, Wim van Dorst (Talk) 16:54, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Incorrect physical information

This NIH pdf seems to disaggree with a lot of the physical data, most notably the appearance of OsO4 and OsO2. Seems that OsO4 is actually clear yellow and OsO2 is in fact a black sooty substance(this is consistent with my own observations) Can someone confirm and revise this?? Seansheep 10:55, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

To answer my own question thisAlfarAesar MSDS confirms OsO2 is black powder Seansheep 11:30, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
And OsO4 is clear... maybe it turns yellow if it's contaminated. --216.110.206.97 (talk) 03:22, 4 January 2008 (UTC)
I agree that I would like it to be clear and colourless, but the sources linked above don't seem to think it is, and I think we have to trust the NIH & chemical supplier over an uncited website (I know they have a photo of a colourless solid, but I could also provide a photo of a clear yellow solid) Seansheep (talk) 07:41, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
Greenwood, N. N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd Edition, Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-3365-4.  says that it's yellow. --Itub (talk) 15:30, 9 January 2008 (UTC)