The Beilstein test is a simple
qualitative
Qualitative descriptions or distinctions are based on some quality or characteristic rather than on some quantity or measured value.
Qualitative may also refer to:
*Qualitative property, a property that can be observed but not measured numericall ...
chemical test for organic
halides. It was developed by
Friedrich Konrad Beilstein.
A
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...
wire is cleaned and heated in a
Bunsen burner flame to form a coating of
copper(I) oxide. It is then dipped in the sample to be tested and once again heated in a flame. A positive test is indicated by a green flame caused by the formation of a copper halide. The test does not detect fluorine/fluorides.
This test is no longer frequently used. One reason why it is not widely used is that it is possible to generate the highly toxic
chloro-dioxins if the test material is a
polychloroarene.
An alternative wet test for halide is the
sodium fusion test The sodium fusion test, or Lassaigne's test, is used in elemental analysis for the qualitative determination of the presence of foreign elements, namely halogens, nitrogen, and sulfur, in an organic compound. It was developed by J. L. Lassaigne.
T ...
— this test converts organic material to inorganic salts include the sodium halide. Addition of
silver nitrate solution causes any halides to precipitate as the respective silver halide.
References
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Chemical tests