Sequential oxidimetric determination of thallium(I) and (III)

The reaction between thallium(III) and oxalic acid in sulphuric acid medium has been investigated. Spectrophotometric results show that thallium(III) can be quantitatively reduced to thallium(I) with oxalic acid in aqueous medium when heated to near boiling point. Conditions for the estimation of the excess of oxalic acid with cerium(IV) sulphate in the presence of thallium(I) and for the estimation of a mixture of thallium(I) and thallium(III) have been investigated. The method is simpler than many other redox methods reported for the determination of thallium(III) and is free from many interferences encountered in these titrations. The reagents are cheap and quite stable.