50x – This piece of thallium was gray with a metallic appearance, but has been sitting out in the open for a few days waiting for me to conduct this test. Consequently, it has begun growing a hydroxide crust.

50x – The piece of thallium is in 1 drop of HNO3 and 2 drops of H2O.
The acidic solution reacted quickly to this metal.
Oddly, the pinkish coloration is accurate.
I applied just a tiny amount of heat which resulted in a little more digestion and these super-saturated crystal formations growing on the thallium and all over the solution contained within the depression on the glass slide.

50x -- these and the next are the 1st super-saturated white and semi-transparent crystals laying all around the piece of metal.

50x – this crystal pattern seems to be distinctive for thallium in a 25% nitric acid solution.

50x – More, yet different super-saturated thallium crystals.

50x – more and different Tl crystals at another location on glass slide.

50x – More super-saturated thallium crystals within the still very fluid HNO3 solution.
The diversity of shapes might explain some of the toxicity of thallium salts.

50x – added a NaCl crystal to the still very liquid nitric acid solution and there was an instant precipitation. I was not quick enough to capture the abundant “+” shaped thallium chloride crystals, but a few are still visible and have not grown into the other shapes seen here and the below images.

20x – The area where the NaCl crystal was placed is now void revealing how the bulk of the TlCl crystals formed.

30x – a closer view of the radiating fern-like growth of TlCl, as well as the bunches of tiny crosses.

50x – attempted to zoom in on some of these snow-white crytals of TlCl, but because they are so white it was really hard to focus on any of them despite that I am using a black background to enhance contrast.

20x – a single crystal of K2CrO7 almost as soon as it was placed in this saturated solution.

20x – this potassium dichromate crystal keep precipitating and expanding in circumference with the fern-like crystal structure.

20x – I bumped the glass slide which caused some of the orange precipitant to dissoldge, but it also helped show the crystal structure within the precipitation.

50x – a magnified view of some of the crystal structure that the K2Cr2O7 caused to precipitate.

20x – a single crystal of KI added to this super-saturated nitric acid solution, to which an additional 3 drops of water was added to hope that Iodine would not react with the nitric acid. Fortunately this added water allowed this immediate and expanding precipitation to occur.

There is a collection of crystals floating on the top of the solution, which has slightly altered some of the view.

50x – a magnified view of the preceding image.
There is no doubt that the amount of water added to the saturated solution has a decided affect on the type of crystal formation. Therefore, multiple tests are required to get a better over-all perspective and catalogue of potential differences than shown here.

Pb+Tl

20x – The bead containing a mixture of approximately equal proportions of Lead and Thallium as fused upon a plaster tablet, which produced no significant sublimates, except the tiny amount of yellow and gray inside the cutout in the plaster.
The orange-brown slag on top of bead is likely mostly lead oxide with some thallium.

50x – The Pb+Tl metal bead resting on glass slide in 2 drops of H2O

50x – The Pb+Tl bead now in 1 drop HNO3 & 3 drops of H2O
The bead is actually dense black and cannot be focused upon without at least this much lighting, which causes at least half the bead to resemble a grayish metal.

From what little I have heard about resultant Lead containing thallium from fusions is that the metal oxides quickly in moist air, and that this oxide easily rubs off on the fingers. Of course wearing gloves and/or washing hands is a necessity after handling any Tl.

20x – Essentially the same as previous image as shown, but with a white back ground.

50x – Some Pb + Tl super-saturated semi-transparent (white) crystals forming along perimeter of solution.
The pinkish coloration is due to reflected lighting.

50x – Same general area as previous image, but the solution is almost dry and these crystals have become a little thicker and longer. Plus, the very bottom peripheral edge of solution has a brownish color, which I have not seen in only dried Lead nitric acid solutions.
Based upon hundreds of previous microchems with thallium as part of the metal matrix these long whitish crystals appear to me as being significantly contaminated with thallium.

50x – These long needles in the almost dry Pb+Tl + nitric acid solution must be a form of Thallium, because I have not seen these types of crystal in only Lead nitrate solution.

50x – There are cubic crystals which look like Pb nitrates in this almost dry Pb+Tl solution.
The other crystals are odd and distorted, which says to me either they are thallium or a combination of Tl & Pb nitrates.

50x -- More concentrated crystals in the almost dry Pb+Tl nitric acid digestion.
This crystal formation obviously has Lead Nitrate distorted crystals, which must be the Thallium influence.

50x – More concentrated crystal in the almost dry Pb+Tl nitric acid digestion.
This crystal formation at first glance appears to be Pb, but upon closer scrutiny there appears to be contamination, which in this case must be the Thallium.

30x – Tooth pick tip dipped in the concentrated Pb + Tl nitric acid solution.
The tip is still hot and glowing red and an oxide grunge forms. The red tip turns yellow when the ignition ceases.

30x – Same toothpick tip re-ignited and tiny molten metal beads can be seen on the red-hot tip. The spheroids on the carbonized portion of the toothpick are the grunge or oxides that have a yellow to orange appearance.

50x – 1 drop of water in a section of the dried Pb + Tl nitric acid solution. With a single crystal of NaCl added.
There are no Lead chloride feather crystals, but there is a different PbCl needle crystal (upper left corner) that the next image focused upon.

70x – The PbCl crystal that is clearly contaminated with Thallium.
I have never seen a Lead chloride needle crystal appear like what is focused upon.
The other chloride precipitation needles also show this configuration, but just not as well.

50x – 3 drops of heated water in a section of the dried Pb+Tl nitric acid solution.

50x – A single crystal of K2Cr2O7 added to a single drop of H2O in another dry area of the Pb + Tl nitric acid solution. There was an immediate non-descriptive precipitation forming.

50x – In another Pb+Tl digestion of 1 drop HNO3 and 2 drops H2O then added 3 more drops of water to the solution a single K2Cr2O7 crystal was added.to produce this instant yellowish mass.
It does not look like Pb chromates, therefore I am assuming that because I know that only Pb & Tl are in the solution that this yellow mass is a combination of the two.

50x – the semi-dried Iodide formation shown in the preceding image.
There are needles inside the hollow area.

Pb+Tl+Ag

10x – The bead on plaster tablet contains Pb + Tl + Ag

20x – The Pb+Tl+Ag on glass slide in 2 drops of water

20x – One drop of HNO3 added to the 2 drops of water shown in preceding image and heated.
The metal bead has a covering of nitrate crystals, which has caused surface pacification thus restricting any further digestion.

50x – The same bead as above, but this higher magnification attempts to focus upon the crystal structure that appears all over the surface. Most of these crystal structures are massive and ill defined, but one near top center has a fish like skeleton shape.

50x – More of these intermingled crystal structure permeating the metal bead.

50x – another view as the preceding image but different area in focus.

20x – Re-heated the solution and more digestion is occurring.

20x – Because the solution is drying I added a drop of water and an instant growth began to emerge on the metal bead (the black edges) and I captured the beginning start of this blackish anomaly.

10x – This fern-like growth happened in less than 10 seconds, so I did not have time to capture more images without turning on the video portion of this microscope camera software, which I did not know this would happen so was not prepared anyway.

This same occurrence happens with silver being in some metals and digested and water added. Normally it takes two drops of water to initiate the action.
This dark growth is contaminated silver, which dissolves with another drop of HNO3.

50x – While the black growth was forming I was also allowing another solution to digest which was ran simultaneously of the same bead to obtain a same solution on a different glass slide to slowly dry, which allowed me to begin capturing these super-saturated crystal growths.

50x – Same slide as the previous image, but a different location.

50x – another portion of the glass slide as shown in preceding image.
The bulbous end of the crystal suggest Lead, but the rest of the shapes of crystals do not mimic Lead or silver nitrates. So, it appears that these almost transparent white crystals are a composite of Pb+Tl+Ag.

20x – A single crystal of NaCl was added to the solution which formed an instant white curd precipitate, suggesting at least silver.
There are needles forming on top of the white mass.
This is a unique display of a chloride precipitation.

30x -- This magnified view of the previous image shows the needles better. Higher magnification fails to show these needles good enough to make them out.
The very center of the precipitate is barely beginning to form a purplish color hinting of a light sensitive element, which silver is and to a lesser extent I think Thallium is too.

20x -- A single K2Cr2O7 was added to the nitrate solution and very little action is noticeable. I suspect that the solution is too concentrated, or these 3 elements are not allowing for this potassium dichromate to develop as it would if on 1 or two other of these elements were present.

20x – a single KI crystal added to the same solution, but with 6 additional drops of water and still it appears to be too concentrated.The yellow appears to lead Chromate and the white wisps should be silver.

20x – another crystal of potassium Iodine added to the same solution near by the previous image that was further diluted with another drop of water.
A white rind encircles the yellow and there is some kind of internal precipitation,
The yellow is most likely Pb and the white is probably Ag.

20x – Toothpick tip dipped in the original solution of heated1 drop HNO3 & 2 drops H2O.
A considerable amount of metal is reducing, but it appears to be a composite of all 3 metals and the formation of oxide reddish-orange grunge.