Purple of Cassius
Purple of Cassius is a purple pigment formed by the reaction of gold salts with tin chloride. It has been used to impart glass with a red coloration, as well as to determine the presence of gold as a chemical test.
Generally, the preparation of this material involves gold being dissolved in aqua regia, then reacted with a solution of tin chloride. The tin chloride reduces the chloroauric acid from the dissolution of gold in aqua regia to a colloid of elemental gold supported on tin dioxide to give a purple precipitate or coloration.
When used as a test, the intensity of the color correlates with the concentration of gold present. This test was first observed and refined by a German physician and alchemist, Andreas Cassius of Hamburg, in 1666.
