638 ANTIMONY. 



part loses its water, and is reduced in a few seconds to a fine 

 greyish, crystalline powder, which is a neutral combination of 

 the oxide of antimony with potash. Oxide of antimony enters 

 into other salts as a base. 



Sulphuret of antimony, Sb S 3 , 22)6.4 or 177.6. The com- 

 mon ore of antimony is a tersulphuret, Sb S 3 , corresponding 

 with the preceding oxide of antimony. It is rarely free from 

 sulphuret of arsenic, which thus often enters the antimonial 

 preparations derived from the sulphuret of antimony, but into 

 tartar emetic less frequently than the others. The same sul- 

 phuret is formed when salts of the oxide of antimony, such as 

 tartar emetic, are precipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen, but it 

 is then of an orange red colour. When the precipitated sul- 

 phuret is dried, it loses water and becomes anhydrous, still re- 

 maining of a dull orange colour ; but heated more strongly, it 

 shrinks at a particular temperature, and assumes the black 

 colour and metallic lustre of the native sulphuret. This sulphu- 

 ret is also obtained of a dark brown colour by boiling the pre- 

 pared sulphuret of antimony in a solution of carbonate of 

 potash, and allowing the solution to cool ; by fusing 2| parts of 

 the prepared sulphuret with 1 part of carbonate of potash, or 

 dissolving it in a boiling solution of caustic potash, and after- 

 wards adding an acid. This preparation is known as Kermes 

 mineral. It has a much duller colour than the precipitated -sul- 

 phuret, but differs from it only in containing a small quantity 

 of an alkaline sulphuret^ which cannot be removed by washing 

 (Berzelius). When the sulphuret of antimony is oxidated at a 

 red heat, much sulphur is burned off, and an impure oxide of 

 antimony remains. This matter forms, when fused, the glass of 

 antimony, which contains a considerable quantity of undecom- 

 posed sulphuret. The glass reduced to powder is boiled with 

 bitartrate of potash, as a source of oxide of antimony, in the 

 pharmaceutical preparation of tartar emetic. The oxide of an- 

 timony is dissolved out from the glass by acids, and a sub- 

 stance is left which is called saffron of antimoni/. This last 

 is a definite compound of oxide and sulphuret of antimony, 

 SbO 3 + 2SbS 3 , which also occurs as a mineral, namely red 

 antimony ore. 



Chloride of antimony, Sb C1 3 , is obtained by distilling either 

 metallic antimony or the sulphuret of antimony with corrosive 

 sublimate. When heated it flows like an oil, and becomes a 



