An experiment determines oxygen levels in air via nitric oxide reaction, suggesting a cost-effective method.
The composition of the air we breathe is fundamental for the preservation of human life. Since the time when it was determined for the first time by the British chemist Henry Cavendish, it has been a subject for frequent quantitative analysis. In this paper we present an experiment to determine the oxygen content in air. It can be performed in a normal laboratory setting and is based on the reaction between nitric oxide (NO) and oxygen. Nitric oxide is generated by the reaction between NaNO2 and FeSO4 in HCl in a Beral pipet. The solution of NaNO2 and the air sample are introduced in the pipet bulb with syringes. This is an easy, ecological, low cost, fast, highly educational, and safe experiment performed with a simple chemistry kit.
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Najdoski et al. (2010) studied this question.
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