Photographic fixer is a mix of chemicals used in the final step in the photographic processing of film or paper. The fixer stabilises the image, removing the unexposed silver halide remaining on the photographic film or photographic paper, leaving behind the reduced metallic silver that forms the image. By fixation, the film or paper is insensitive to further action by light. Without fixing, the remaining silver halide would darken and cause fogging of the image. Fixation is commonly achieved by treating the film or paper with a solution of thiosulfate salt. Popular salts are sodium thiosulfate—commonly called hypo—and ammonium thiosulfate—commonly used in modern rapid fixer formulae. Fixation involves these chemical reactions (X = halide, typically Br−):
Sodium sulfite (sodium sulphite) is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na2SO3. A white, water-soluble solid, it is used commercially as an antioxidant and preservative. It is also suitable for the softening of lignin in the pulping and refining processes of wood and lignocellulosic materials. A heptahydrate is also known but it is less useful because of its greater susceptibility toward oxidation by air.
Sodium thiosulfate is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2S2O3·(H2O)(x). Typically it is available as the white or colorless pentahydrate. It is a white solid that dissolves well in water. The compound is a reducing agent and a ligand, and these properties underpin its applications.
Dodecanol, or lauryl alcohol, is an organic compound produced industrially from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. It is a fatty alcohol. Sulfate esters of lauryl alcohol, especially sodium lauryl sulfate, are very widely used as surfactants. Sodium lauryl sulfate and the related dodecanol derivatives ammonium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate are all used in shampoos. Dodecanol is tasteless, colorless, and has a floral odor.
Ammonium phosphate is the inorganic compound with the formula (NH4)3PO4. It is the ammonium salt of orthophosphoric acid. A related "double salt", (NH4)3PO4.(NH4)2HPO4 is also recognized but is impractical to use. Both triammonium salts evolve ammonia. In contrast to the unstable nature of the triammonium salts, the diammonium phosphate (NH4)2HPO4 and monoammonium salt (NH4)H2PO4 are stable materials that are commonly used as fertilizers to provide plants with fixed nitrogen and phosphorus.
A persulfate is a compound containing the anions SO2−
5 or S
2O2−
8. The anion SO2−
5 contains one peroxide group per sulfur center, whereas in S
2O2−
8, the peroxide group bridges the sulfur atoms. In both cases, sulfur adopts the normal tetrahedral geometry typical for the S(VI) oxidation state. These salts are strong oxidizers.
The dithionite is the oxyanion with the formula [S2O4]2−. It is commonly encountered as the salt sodium dithionite. For historical reasons, it is sometimes called hydrosulfite, but it contains no hydrogen and is not a sulfite. The dianion has a steric number of 4 and trigonal pyramidal geometry.
Thiosulfate is an oxyanion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2O2−3. Thiosulfate also refers to the compounds containing this anion, which are the salts of thiosulfuric acid, e.g. sodium thiosulfate Na2S2O3. Thiosulfate also refers to the esters of thiosulfuric acid. The prefix thio- indicates that the thiosulfate is a sulfate with one oxygen replaced by sulfur. Thiosulfate is tetrahedral at the central S atom. Thiosulfate salts occur naturally. Thiosulfate ion has C3v symmetry, and is produced by certain biochemical processes. It rapidly dechlorinates water and is notable for its use to halt bleaching in the paper-making industry. Thiosulfate salts are mainly used in dying in textiles and the bleaching of natural substances.
Potassium persulfate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2S2O8. Also known as potassium peroxydisulfate, it is a white solid that is sparingly soluble in cold water, but dissolves better in warm water. This salt is a powerful oxidant, commonly used to initiate polymerizations.
Crotonaldehyde is a chemical compound with the formula CH3CH=CHCHO. The compound is usually sold as a mixture of the E- and Z-isomers, which differ with respect to the relative position of the methyl and formyl groups. The E-isomer is more common (data given in Table is for the E-isomer). This lachrymatory liquid is moderately soluble in water and miscible in organic solvents. As an unsaturated aldehyde, crotonaldehyde is a versatile intermediate in organic synthesis. It occurs in a variety of foodstuffs, e.g. soybean oils.
The peroxydisulfate ion, S
2O2−
8, is an oxyanion, the anion of peroxydisulfuric acid. It is commonly referred to as persulfate, but this term also refers to the peroxomonosulfate ion, SO2−
5. It is also called peroxodisulfate. Approximately 500,000 tons of salts containing this anion are produced annually. Important salts include sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8), potassium persulfate (K2S2O8), and ammonium persulfate ((NH4)2S2O8). These salts are colourless, water-soluble solids that are strong oxidants.
Dibromomethane or methylene bromide, or methylene dibromide is a halomethane with the formula CH2Br2. It is slightly soluble in water but very soluble in organic solvents. It is a colorless liquid.
Ammonium heptamolybdate is the inorganic compound whose chemical formula is (NH4)6Mo7O24, normally encountered as the tetrahydrate. A dihydrate is also known. It is a colorless solid, often referred to as ammonium paramolybdate or simply as ammonium molybdate, although "ammonium molybdate" can also refer to ammonium orthomolybdate, (NH4)2MoO4, and several other compounds. It is one of the more common molybdenum compounds.
Potassium bisulfite (or potassium hydrogen sulfite) is a chemical mixture with the approximate chemical formula KHSO3. Potassium bisulfite in fact is not a real compound, but a mixture of salts that dissolve in water to give solutions composed of potassium ions and bisulfite ions. It is a white solid with an odor of sulfur dioxide. Attempts to crystallize potassium bisulfite yield potassium metabisulfite, K2S2O5.
Ammonium bisulfate, also known as ammonium hydrogen sulfate, is a white, crystalline solid with the formula (NH4)HSO4. This salt is the product of the half-neutralization of sulfuric acid by ammonia.
Sodium aurothiosulfate, or sanocrysin, is the inorganic compound with the formula Na3[Au(S2O3)2]·2H2O. It is the trisodium salt of the coordination complex of gold(I), [Au(S2O3)2]3−. The dihydrate, which is colorless, crystallizes with two waters of crystallization. The compound has some medicinal properties as well as potential for hydrometallurgy.
Ammonium sulfite is the ammonium salt of sulfurous acid with the chemical formula (NH4)2SO3.
Calcium cyanide is the inorganic compound with the formula Ca(CN)2. It is the calcium salt derived from hydrocyanic acid. It is a white solid, although the pure material is rarely encountered. It hydrolyses readily (even in moist air) to release hydrogen cyanide and is very toxic.
Potassium thiosulfate, commonly abbreviated KTS, is an inorganic compound with the formula K2S2O3. This salt can form multiple hydrates, such as the monohydrate, dihydrate, and the pentahydrate, all of which are white or colorless solids. It is used as a fertilizer.
A transition metal thiosulfate complex is a coordination complex containing one or more thiosulfate ligands. Thiosulfate occurs in nature and is used industrially, so its interactions with metal ions are of some practical interest.
