Wizzard
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Indium compounds
Just playing around with my elements again, I figured I'd try making some nice crystals of Indium salts...
Dropping In into medium sulfuric acid (35% I think) produced a transparent liquid- As expected. Still awaiting crystals 
Depositing In into white fuming HNO3 made at first a light-yellow solution, which became orangy (NO3) and then a wonderful emerald green- Like Ni
sulfate.
I thought Indium(III) nitrate was white? Did I make something else? I have no idea what color In(II) or In(I) is, not much information out there. Or
do I just have a very impure sample?
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Jor
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Can you dilute the indium nitrate solution. I think it will turn clear. or boil it.
When you dissolve copper the green color is also observed, it seems NO2 dissolved in conc. nitric acid forms some sort of green complex with copper
and other metals. When you dilute it the color goes blue (in the case of copper).
[Edited on 12-5-2011 by Jor]
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ScienceSquirrel
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A few minutes searching would have revealed the fact that getting crystals of indium nitrate or suphate is likely to be quite hard.
The salts are very soluble in water, hygroscopic and decompose on heating.
They are also boring white solids.
I think the colour must be due to contamination, indium III would be the species formed under those conditions and it is white. Indium I is a powerful
reducing agent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indium%28III%29_sulfate
http://www.indium.com/_dynamo/download.php?docid=150
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Wizzard
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Yeah, I like the shapes And I was going to dry them out very slowly with a low
vacuum (almost 14") at room temperature, see if I could get any crystals. The indium sulfate has not lost any water yet, I see :p
I will dilute the nitrate solution, and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestion
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ScienceSquirrel
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That might work.
I doubt the colour is due to an indium complex.
I would expect the chemistry to be similar to aluminium and most of it's compounds are white except where the anion is coloured.
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Wizzard
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Ah, what fun... With the addition of another 1.2cc of water, all the color is gone
How plain.
Time to dehydrate!
Would anybody care to link me to something I can read about the wonderfully colorful complex which was formed?
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