Application of arsenite reduction to the potentiometric determination of gold and to the analysis of mixtures and alloys

The present work is an application of iodide to the reduction of gold(III), in an attempt to develop new method for gold(III) based on potentiometric back-titration of the excess of iodide with mercury(II). Although it was proved by calculation that the reduction of tetrachloroaurate to the metal should proceed quantitatively to completion, yet our experiments showed that the reduction under ordinary conditions, gave Au(I) in the form of a white precipitate of AuI. We succeeded to push the reduction with iodide to the metal by an excess of ethanol-ether catalyzed iodide at somewhat elevated temperature.With the experimental conditions established a reliable procedure have been developed involving a potentiometric finish which enabled accurate determination of gold(III), either alone or in some of its alloys.