1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Algaroth, Powder of

ALGAROTH, POWDER OF, a basic chloride of antimony. It was known to Basil Valentine, and was used medicinally by the Veronese physician Victor Algarotus about the end of the 16th century. Its composition is probably Sb₄O₅Cl₂, and it may be prepared by the addition of much water to a solution of antimony chloride; a bulky amorphous precipitate being formed, which, on standing, gradually becomes crystalline. It is soluble in hydrochloric acid and tartaric acid, but insoluble in alcohol.

On its composition and preparation see E. Péligot, Annalen, 1847, lxiv. 280; L. Schäffer, Annalen, 1869, clii. 314; and R. W. E. MacIvor, Chem. News, 1875, xxxii. 229.