But it's not pure pink: as you can see from the photograph, it is comprised of large crystals that range in colour from white to dark orange, although most crystals are pale pink. This salt (pictured) looks like it has at least some MnCl 2 in it because it is definitely pink. Because I needed some salt, I purchased 200 grams of some rather lovely 'Himalaya salz' last weekend at a local open-air market. This reminds me to show you my pink salt. Of the many oxidation states that manganese can adopt, the most stable is +2, and predictably, many manganese(II) compounds are known, such as manganese(II) chloride (MnCl 2) - which is pale pink in colour. This is due to manganese's falling oxidation state. To this, a very dilute solution of potassium permanganate is added.'Īs you can see in the video, the potassium permanganate was a lovely purple colour, but the colour changed to a orangish-brown colour after a few minutes. Visit perpetualdoomsday's YouTube channel.Īccording to the videographer, here is what he did: 'The clear solution at the beginning is made up by adding 1/2 a sugar cube and about 10-12 pellets of sodium hydroxide in about 120-150 ml of water.

So let me show you some kitchen science that demonstrates the changing oxidation state in manganese, starting with purple: But like its sister transition metals, chromium and vanadium, when manganese is found in minerals, it shows a stunning array of beautiful colours that vary as its oxidation state changes.Īmazingly (to me), our friends in the University of Nottingham's chemistry department mentioned potassium permanganate without also mentioning its gorgeous purple colour (sigh!). This is yet another one in that seemingly endless parade of transition metals that are a boring shiny silver colour in its elemental state (pictured image by Tomihahndorf ). Today's element is manganese, which is designated by the symbol Mn and the atomic number 25.

Mn element