Potassium hydroxide pentasulphide

The simplest method, in practice, for the production of the alkali polysulphides is supplied by the interaction of sulphur and the alkali sulphide in hot aqueous or alcohol solution.2 Liver of sulphur, obtained by fusing sulphur with potassium carbonate,3 is, when freshly prepared, mainly a mixture of potassium polysulphides with potassium thiosulphate. Solutions of the hydroxides of the alkali or alkaline earth metals also dissolve sulphur, yielding solutions of the polysulphides and thiosulphates of the corresponding metals (see p. 87). When a suspension of sulphur in aqueous ammonia is treated with hydrogen sulphide in the absence of air, a red solution is obtained, which on cooling yields yellow crystals of ammonium pentasulphide, (NH4)2S5.4 Bloxam claimed 5 to have separated tetra-, penta-, hepta- and nona-sulphides in this way, whilst Thomas and Riding,6 using alcoholic ammonia, obtained only what they considered to be di-, penta- and hepta-sulphides. Mills and Robinson, however, were unable to obtain evidence of the formation of any polysulphide other than the pentasulphide. 

---