Substance profile
Potassium permanganate
Potassium permanganate is dark purple or bronze-like crystals; Almost opaque by transmitted light and of a blue and is odorless.
01 · Identification
What Potassium permanganate is
Potassium permanganate is dark purple or bronze-like crystals; Almost opaque by transmitted light and of a blue and is odorless. Its molecular formula is KMnO4 and its molecular weight is 158.034 g/mol. It melts at 240 °C, is soluble in water.
Under the GHS it carries the signal word Danger.
02 · Identifiers
Potassium permanganate identifiers and molecular data
Potassium permanganate CAS number and EC number
Potassium permanganate molecular formula and molecular weight
Other names for Potassium permanganate
- Condy's crystals
- KMnO4
- C.I. 77755
- Cairox
- Chameleon Mineral
- Permanganic Acid Potassium Salt
- Pure Light E 2
03 · GHS classification
Potassium permanganate hazard classification
Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.
Potassium permanganate pictograms and signal word
Potassium permanganate hazard class and category
| Hazard class | Category | From code | Pictogram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxidising liquids or Oxidising solids | Category 2 or 3 | H272 | GHS03 |
| Acute toxicity - oral GHS chapter 3.1 | Category 4 | H302 | GHS07 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - acute GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H400 | GHS09 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - chronic GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H410 | GHS09 |
Where two values are shown with “or”, the hazard statement is shared by more than one category or by more than one class, and the code alone does not say which. H272, for example, belongs to oxidising liquids and to oxidising solids — the physical state decides. The binding answer for a specific entry is in the CLP Annex VI table itself.
Potassium permanganate hazard statements (H-codes)
| Code | Hazard statement |
|---|---|
| H272 | May intensify fire; oxidiser. |
| H361d | Suspected of damaging the unborn child. |
| H302 | Harmful if swallowed. |
| H400 | Very toxic to aquatic life. |
| H410 | Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects. |
This page lists only the codes assigned to Potassium permanganate. The full reference lives on the hazard statements hub, the precautionary statements hub and the GHS pictograms hub.
Safety Data Sheet
Getting an SDS for Potassium permanganate
Our own Potassium permanganate safety data sheet walks through all sixteen sections of the published data. What it is not is the document an inspector asks for: an SDS is issued for a product by its supplier, so the sheet covering the grade actually standing in your store exists only in that supplier’s version. Collecting those and keeping them current as suppliers revise them is a separate job.
04 · Precautionary statements
Potassium permanganate precautionary statements
CLP Annex VI assigns 7 precautionary statements to Potassium permanganate. They are grouped the way a label groups them: what to do before handling, what to do when something has already happened, how to store it and how to dispose of it.
Prevention
What to do before and during handling so the hazard never happens.
Response
What to do once exposure, spillage or fire has already happened.
Disposal
What has to happen to the contents and the empty container.
Reading the notation. … is a blank the supplier fills in — not a truncated sentence.· [square brackets] mark a part printed only when it applies.
05 · Names in the regulation
Potassium permanganate name in 23 EU languages
CLP Annex VI Part 3 is published in every language edition of the regulation, and the identification column is written out in each of them. Nothing below is translated by us: each line is the name as that edition prints it. Under Art. 18(2) the substance name from Annex VI is a lawful product identifier, so this is the wording to put on a label going to that market — and where the cell lists several designations, any one of them qualifies.
| Language | Name in CLP Annex VI Part 3 |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian български | калиев перманганат |
| Spanish español | Permanganato de potasio |
| Czech čeština | manganistan draselný |
| Danish dansk | kaliumpermanganat |
| German Deutsch | Kaliumpermanganat |
| Estonian eesti | kaaliumpermanganaat |
| Greek ελληνικά | υπερμαγγανικό κάλιο |
| English English | potassium permanganate |
| French français | permanganate de potassium |
| Croatian hrvatski | kalijev permanganat |
| Italian italiano | Permanganato di potassio |
| Latvian latviešu | kālija permanganāts |
| Lithuanian lietuvių | kalio permanganatas |
| Hungarian magyar | kálium-permanganát |
| Maltese Malti | permanganat tal-potassju |
| Dutch Nederlands | kaliumpermanganaat |
| Polish polski | nadmanganian potasu |
| Portuguese português | permanganato de potássio |
| Romanian română | permanganat de potasiu |
| Slovak slovenčina | manganistan draselný |
| Slovenian slovenščina | kalijev permanganat |
| Finnish suomi | kaliumpermanganaatti |
| Swedish svenska | kaliumpermanganat |
All 23 language editions of Annex VI carry this entry. Irish is the twenty-fourth official EU language and has no line here for a different reason: no consolidated CLP text has ever been published in Irish, so there is no Irish edition of Annex VI to quote a name from. Source: consolidated CLP, CELEX 02008R1272, language editions. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — only the electronic Official Journal of the European Union is authentic.
06 · Label elements
Potassium permanganate GHS label elements
Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Potassium permanganate, laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.
Danger
Potassium permanganate
- May intensify fire; oxidiser.
- Suspected of damaging the unborn child.
- Harmful if swallowed.
- Very toxic to aquatic life.
- Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product.
- Avoid release to the environment.
- IF SWALLOWED:
- Call a POISON CENTER/doctor/… if you feel unwell.
- Rinse mouth.
- Collect spillage.
- Dispose of contents/container to …
Supplier name, address and telephone number· Product identifier·Nominal quantity
Need this as an actual label? Open Potassium permanganate in the GHS label constructor →
07 · Health hazards
Potassium permanganate health hazards and exposure limits
Potassium permanganate hazard summary
Dilute solutions are irritants and concentrated solutions caustic to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. Toxic by ingestion--gastrointestinal burns, methemoglobinemia, and injury to liver and kidneys; [HSDB] If not flushed with water, can burn skin and stain it dark brown; [CHRIS] Inhalation of high concentrations of dust or mist may cause pulmonary edema in extreme exposures; May cause liver and kidney damage after ingestion; Lethal dose is about 10 grams; May cause manganese poisoning after chronic ingestion or inhalation; [CHEMINFO] Permanganate crystals and concentrated solutions are corrosive (release potassium hydroxide when contact water) and can induce methemoglobinemia after ingestion; [Olson, p. 133] See Manganese and linked occupational diseases.
Source: Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases
Potassium permanganate occupational exposure limits
| Limit | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| IDLH | 500 mg/cu m /Manganese compounds and fume (as Mn)/ | Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) |
These are United States values. The European Union sets its own indicative and binding limits, and the figure that applies at a given workplace is the one in the local regulation — not the one shown here.
08 · Physical and chemical properties
Potassium permanganate properties
Every value is shown with the conditions it was measured under and the source it came from. Where sources disagree, all values are listed rather than one being picked — the difference is usually a different form of the substance, not an error.
Potassium permanganate melting point
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melting point | 240 °C (464 °F) | above this value | CAMEO |
| Decomposes | decomposes | HSDB |
Potassium permanganate density
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 2.7 g/cm³ | HSDB | |
| 2.7 g/cm³ | at 25 °C | DOE PAC |
Potassium permanganate solubility
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solubility | Soluble in many organic solvents; also by concentrated acids with the liberation of oxygen. | HSDB | |
| Soluble in acetone and methanol | HSDB | ||
| Soluble in acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, acetic anhydride, pyridine, benzonitrile, sulfolane. | HSDB |
Potassium permanganate vapor pressure
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vapor pressure | Vapor pressure at 20 °C: negligible | at 20 °C | ICSC |
Potassium permanganate autoignition temperature
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autoignition temperature | Not flammable (USCG, 1999) | CAMEO |
Values compiled from PubChem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary. Temperatures converted to Fahrenheit for reference.
09 · Fire and explosion
Potassium permanganate fire and explosion behaviour
These are descriptions rather than measured values, so they are kept out of the table above and quoted here with the source that reported them.
Potassium permanganate fire potential
MODERATE, BY CHEMICAL REACTION.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
10 · Handling and storage
Potassium permanganate storage and handling
Potassium permanganate reactive group
CAMEO Chemicals places Potassium permanganate in the reactive group Oxidizing Agents, Strong. Compatibility with other chemicals is worked out from the group, not from the individual substance — which is why two substances you have never seen react can still be flagged as a pair that must be separated.
A reactive group is a CAMEO Chemicals (US NOAA) grouping, not a GHS hazard class: it has no code, no category and no legal force. It is what the storage compatibility matrix on this site computes from.
Potassium permanganate safe storage
Separated from combustible substances, reducing agents and powdered metals. Well closed. Provision to contain effluent from fire extinguishing. Store in an area without drain or sewer access.
Source: ILO-WHO International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs)
Potassium permanganate incompatible materials
CAUTION: TAKE GREAT CARE IN HANDLING AS EXPLOSIONS MAY OCCUR IF IT IS BROUGHT INTO CONTACT WITH ORG OR OTHER READILY OXIDIZABLE SUBSTANCES, EITHER IN SOLN OR IN DRY STATE.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Planning storage for a mix of chemicals? Check Potassium permanganate in the storage compatibility matrix →
11 · Transport
Potassium permanganate UN number and transport classification
Transport classification is a separate system from the GHS classification above. It decides how a package is marked and how a load may be carried; it does not follow from the workplace label, and the workplace label does not follow from it. The entries below are linked by CAS number, never by name.
Potassium permanganate under UN 1490 — shipping name, class and packing group
Europe · ADR 2025, Table A
| Proper shipping name (3.1.2) | Class | Classification code | PG | Labels (column 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE | 5.1 | O2 | II | |
Source: ADR 2025, Table A of Chapter 3.2 · ECE/TRANS/352 Vol. I (UNECE). Class 5.1 is “Oxidizing substances” (ADR 2.1.1.1).
United States · 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table
| Proper shipping name (column 2) | Class or division | PG | Labels (column 6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potassium permanganate | 5.1 | II | |
Source: 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table · eCFR, revision 2026-08-03. Class 5.1 is “Oxidizer” (49 CFR 173.2).
12 · Questions
Potassium permanganate — frequently asked questions
What is the CAS number of Potassium permanganate?
The CAS number of Potassium permanganate is 7722-64-7. Its EC number is 231-760-3.
What is the chemical formula of Potassium permanganate?
The molecular formula of Potassium permanganate is KMnO4 and its molecular weight is 158.034 g/mol.
What does a Potassium permanganate label have to show?
Under CLP Annex VI the label for Potassium permanganate carries the pictograms Flame over circle, Health hazard, Exclamation mark and Environment and the signal word is Danger.
Is Potassium permanganate flammable?
CLP Annex VI assigns Potassium permanganate no flammability hazard class. That is not a statement that it cannot burn: the harmonised list only records the hazards that were assessed for it.
Is Potassium permanganate a carcinogen?
CLP Annex VI records no harmonised carcinogenicity classification for Potassium permanganate. Annex VI is a list of agreed classifications, not a list of substances found safe, so this is an absence of a classification rather than a clean bill of health.
What is the melting point of Potassium permanganate?
The melting point reported for Potassium permanganate is 240 °C (464 °F), above this value (CAMEO).
Nearby
Substances next to Potassium permanganate
Keep going: substances starting with P, or search the whole database by name, CAS number, pictogram or signal word.
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