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Marsh test (1836)

Confirmatory test for arsenic devised by James Marsh after the LaFarge case. Zn + dilute H2SO4 + sample generates nascent hydrogen; any arsenic present reduces to arsine gas (AsH3), which decomposes in a heated glass tube to a shiny black mirror of metallic arsenic. The arsenic mirror is soluble in NaOCl; the antimony mirror is not (the key MCQ distinction).

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Related terms

Arsenic (As)Dry ashingHydride generation (HG-AAS)Lead (Pb)Mercury (Hg)Reinsch testThallium (Tl)Wet digestion

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