Note 7 — Chapter IV · OZONE AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE—DALTON'S LAW

Ozone takes up the hydrogen from hydrochloric acid; chlorine is liberated, and can dissolve gold. Iodine is directly oxidised by ozone, but not by oxygen. Ammonia, NH3, is oxidised by ozone into ammonium nitrite (and nitrate), 2NH3 + O3 = NH4NO2 + H2O, and therefore a drop of ammonia, on falling into the gas, gives a thick cloud of the salts formed. Ozone converts lead oxide into peroxide, and suboxide of thallium (which is colourless) into oxide (which is brown), so that this reaction is made use of for detecting the presence of ozone. Lead sulphide, PbS (black), is converted into sulphate, PbSO4 (colourless), by ozone. A neutral solution of manganese sulphate gives a precipitate of manganese peroxide, and an acid solution may be oxidised into permanganic acid, HMnO4. With respect to the oxidising action of ozone on organic substances, it may be mentioned that with ether, C4H10O, ozone gives ethyl peroxide, which is capable of decomposing with explosion (according to Berthelot), and is decomposed by water into alcohol, 2C2H6O, and hydrogen peroxide, H2O2.