Resumen de Improvements upon the “Colorful Cobalt Catalysis” Demonstration and Evidence for the Presence of an Autocatalytic Mechanism
The oxidation of potassium sodium tartrate by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by cobalt(II) chloride is a favorite lecture demonstration. I present conditions under which this experiment may be performed without need for 30% hydrogen peroxide and without need for controlled heating or any heating of the reaction mixture. I further show that this reaction is subject to an induction period and that the induction period may be shortened or eliminated by the introduction of one of the reaction products, bicarbonate ion, into the reaction mixture.
