The precipitate formed by sulphuretted hydrogen may contain the black mercuric, lead, and copper sulphides, dark-brown bismuth sulphide, yellow cadmium and arsenious sulphides, orange-red antimony sulphide, brown stannous sulphide, dull-yellow stannic sulphide, and whitish sulphur, the last resulting from the oxidation of sulphuretted hydrogen by ferric salts, chromates, &c. Warming with ammonium sulphide dissolves out the arsenic, antimony and tin salts, which are reprecipitated by the addition of hydrochloric acid to the ammonium sulphide solution.
Iron renders the metal hard and brittle; arsenic, antimony and bismuth (up to 0.5%) reduce its tenacity; copper and lead (1 to 2%) make it harder and stronger but impair its malleability; and stannous oxide reduces its tenacity.
One part of cream of tartar, two of alum and two of common salt are dissolved in boiling water, and the solution is boiled with granulated metallic tin (or, better, mixed with a little stannous chloride) to produce a tin solution; and into this the articles are put at a boiling heat.
Tin forms two well-marked series of salts, in one of which it is divalent, these salts being derived from stannous oxide, SnO, in the other it is tetravalent, this series being derived from stannic oxide, Sn02.
Precipitated stannous hydrate dissolves readily in caustic potash; if the solution is evaporated quickly it suffers decomposition, with formation of metal and stannate, 2SnO+2KOH = K2Sn03+Sn+H20.