LIQUID AND SOLID IODIDE OF IRON. 
253 
ART. XLII— NOTE ON LIQUID AND SOLID IODIDE OF 
IRON. By E. Mouchon. 
Having wished to prepare this substance, I proceeded 
according to the directions of Dr. Dupasquier, namely: — to 
sixty parts of water at 1 30° F. in a close vessel, I added five 
parts of iodine and ten parts of perfectly pure iron filings; in 
half an hour I obtained, on filtration, seventy-two parts of a 
translucent but slightly yellow solution of iodide of iron. 
This product having been poured into a bottle of a larger 
size than was necessary, soon acquired a reddish colour; this 
augmented in intensity till the next day, when the fluid depo- 
sited a reddish brown substance, and reassumed its first appear- 
ance. This change is readily explanable, by the great affinity 
of the iron for oxygen. 
By filling a bottle with the solution before it cooled, and 
closing the vessel in such a manner as to prevent any access 
of air, the iodide will remain unaltered for an indefinite time; 
but as soon as the bottle is uncorked, decomposition begins, 
and there is a precipitation of oxide of iron. This alteration 
is therefore owing to the action of the air, and not to that of 
the water. 
To obviate this difficulty, I thought that the best plan would 
be to obtain the iodide in a solid state, by subjecting the solu- 
tion to a rapid, but equal evaporation. 
By this process, five parts of dry protoiodide are obtained. 
This salt is very deliquescent, and requires to be kept in close 
bottles, but it should be observed that it merely deliquesces, 
and is not decomposed as in the former case. 
