Article
Article
- Chemistry
- Chemistry - general
- Precipitation (chemistry)
- Chemistry
- Analytical chemistry
- Precipitation (chemistry)
Precipitation (chemistry)
Article By:
Murray, Royce W. Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Last reviewed:August 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.542500
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- Precipitation (chemistry), published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Solubility product constant
- Impurities
- Methods for reducing contamination
- Precipitation from homogeneous solution
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
The process of producing a separable solid phase within a liquid medium. In a broad sense, precipitation represents the formation of a new condensed phase, although other terms are often used to describe the process. Thus (1) a vapor or gas condenses to liquid droplets, or more specifically as in meteorology, water vapor in the atmosphere precipitates to form rain, snow, or ice; (2) a substance in the liquid state freezes or solidifies; (3) a dissolved component crystallizes from a supersaturated solution; (4) a new solid phase gradually precipitates within a solid alloy as the result of a slow, inner chemical reaction; or (5) a metal electrodeposits upon the passage of an electrical current through a solution.
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