Demonstrating the chameleon redox reaction with a lollipop

By Declan Fleming2022-12-05T09:42:00

Source: Education in Chemistry

Give your students a sweet treat with this colourful manganate(VII) reaction demo

In a variation of what is sometimes referred to as the chameleon reaction, you can use a lollipop to reduce manganate(VII) through a range of colourful oxidation states. It’s a highly engaging, colourful reaction for students to enjoy. It’s also a good introduction to self-indicating redox titrations, and you can produce different effects by slightly altering it. Add in a candy cane, and it works well as a festive practical treat too.

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