bolbol
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Elemental Thallium under glycerol
I have around 3 pieces of elemental thallium under oil that I do not need and I am looking to sell them. Would prefer to sell all 3 together since I
don't have many small vials that I can send them in but I could acquire some if needed. I can not weigh them currently but each piece should be
anywhere from 5-12 grams. I will determine the actual weight of the piece when transferring vials and I am willing to sell it at a price of 5 dollars
per gram shipping included. Only for the US though. Let me know if you have any questions or need pictures through message!
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unionised
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Why glycerol?
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bolbol
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Thats how it came when I got it. I was under the impression that it was mineral oil at first.
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woelen
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Thallium must be stored under glycerol or some other alcohol. Glycerol is non-volatile, non-toxic, and only marginally flammable, so it makes a good
and safe storage medium.
Thallium cannot be stored in air, it will be oxidized quickly.
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j_sum1
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Yep. It is really important to have a non-toxic medium when you are storing thallium. 
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unionised
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Quote: Originally posted by woelen  | Thallium must be stored under glycerol or some other alcohol. Glycerol is non-volatile, non-toxic, and only marginally flammable, so it makes a good
and safe storage medium.
Thallium cannot be stored in air, it will be oxidized quickly. |
Why glycerol (with which, at least in principle, it reacts to form an alkoxide,) rather than mineral oil with which there's no obvious reaction
pathway?
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Metacelsus
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I couldn't find any numbers on this, but I expect that oxygen is more soluble in mineral oil than in glycerol. Oxygen gas is nonpolar.
As a comparison, oxygen is ~31 times more soluble in hexane than in ethylene glycol (source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie502386t ).
[Edited on 1-19-2017 by Metacelsus]
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woelen
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Thallium does not react with alcohols. Even with water it hardly reacts. It could be stored under water for a long time, and in the past I believe it
was stored as such. Water, however, is slightly ionized and can dissolve thallium very slowly, the resulting thallium hydroxide being soluble. The
reaction, however, comes to a halt, you will get a somewhat basic solution of very dilute thallium hydroxide. In the presence of CO2, however, the
reaction can proceed further. The water can absorb CO2 and more Tl will dissolve. Additionally, dissolved oxygen may make things even worse. In
glycerol you will have less of this kind of problems and even in a somewhat less tightly closed container, the Tl will remain good under glycerol for
a very long time.
And yes, it always is good to have a nice non-toxic medium in which to store your thallium 
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bolbol
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I had dropped another piece I had into a HCl solution thinking with the water and the acid something would happen. After a day it was slightly
discolored and that's it!
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nezza
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That is because Thallium(I) chloride is insoluble in water. Any acid with a soluble Thallium(I) salt would attack it rapidly.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
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unionised
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Unless, of course, it does.
2 questions;
why wouldn't it and
why are these people wrong?
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XWYqh1an5sQC&pg=PA65...
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woelen
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Your link does not work for me, it tells me that I am not allowed to view these pages.
One thing I know for sure is that nowadays thallium is stored under glycerol and also is sold as such. Even with water it hardly reacts and with
alcohols the reaction is slower. There may be a reaction with glycerol to form a little alkoxide, but apparently the reaction is so slow, or comes to
a halt after only a very small amount is formed, that this is the way to go.
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unionised
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OK, the reaction is slow- but it happens.
Why use glycerine rather than, for example, white spirit or paraffin?
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bolbol
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| Quote: Originally posted by nezza | | That is because Thallium(I) chloride is insoluble in water. Any acid with a soluble Thallium(I) salt would attack it rapidly. |
Well I tried nitric acid next and the following day the thallium was all gone. Now I am not sure if it was oxidized to +1 or +3. Cant find much
information online about either of those nitrates to be able to tell
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bolbol
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Sold!
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carrant
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I received the package quickly and in excellent condition!
Thanks bolbol!
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