Potassium Biphthalate (synthetic)

Item Description

A very rarely seen example of crystallized Potassium Biphthalate, also known as Potassium Hydrogen Phthalate. This substance is an acidic salt compound used as a primary standard for acid-base titrations and as a buffering agent. This is the ONLY crystallized example we've ever seen, and it's quite showy thumbnail featuring a few sharp, lustrous, GEMMY crystals, with a captivating saturated aqua hue, free of matrix. It's my understanding that Potassium Biphthalate is supposed to be colorless, so there must be some kind of chromophore added to the solution in order to get the blue color. No damage that I can find.
From the synthetic mineral suite of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#6034). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.