LITMUS PAPER - The word "litmus" comes from the old Norse word for "to dye or color". The blue dye has been extracted from lichens since the 16th century. The first known use of litmus was around 1300 AD by Spanish alchemist Arnaldus de Villa Nova. Litmus paper turns red in response to acidic conditions (pH 7). When the pH is neutral (pH = 7) then the dye is purple. While litmus paper is most often used to test the pH of liquids, it can be used to test gases if the paper is dampened with distilled water before exposure to the gas.

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Litmus Paper

What Is Litmus Paper? Understand the Litmus Test

Litmus Paper and the Litmus Test

by Anne Marie Helmenstine,Ph.D

You can make paper test strips to determine the pH of an aqueous solution by treating filter paper with any of the common pH indicators. 

One of the first indicators used for this purpose was litmus. 

Litmus paper is paper that has been treated with a specific indicator - a mixture of 10-15 natural dyes obtained from lichens (mainly Roccella tinctoria) that turns red in response to acidic conditions (pH 7).

When the pH is neutral (pH = 7) then the dye is purple.

The first known use of litmus was around 1300 AD by Spanish alchemist Arnaldus de Villa Nova.

The blue dye has been extracted from lichens since the 16th century.

The word "litmus" comes from the old Norse word for "to dye or color".

While all litmus paper acts as pH paper, the converse is untrue. It's incorrect to refer to all pH paper as "litmus paper".

Fast Facts: Litmus Paper

·       Litmus paper is a type of pH paper made by treating paper with natural dyes from lichens.

·       The litmus test is performed by placing a small drop of sample onto the colored paper.

·       Usually, litmus paper is either red or blue. Red paper turns blue when the pH is alkaline, while blue paper turns red when the pH turns acidic.

·       While litmus paper is most often used to test the pH of liquids, it can be used to test gases if the paper is dampened with distilled water before exposure to the gas.

Litmus Test

To perform the test, simple place a drop of liquid sample on a small strip of paper or dip a piece of litmus paper in a small specimen of the sample.

Ideally, you don't dip litmus paper in an entire container of a chemical. The reason is that the dye could contaminate a potentially valuable sample.

The litmus test is a quick method of determining whether a liquid or gaseous solution is acidic or basic (alkaline).

The test can be performed using litmus paper or an aqueous solution containing litmus dye.

Initially, litmus paper is either red or blue. The blue paper changes color to red, indicating acidity somewhere between the pH range of 4.5 to 8.3 (however, note 8.3 is alkaline). 

Red litmus paper can indicate alkalinity with a color change to blue. In general, litmus paper is red below pH of 4.5 and blue above a pH of 8.3.

If the paper turns purple, this indicates the pH is near neutral. Red paper that does not change color indicates the sample is an acid.

Blue paper that does not change color indicates the sample is a base.

Remember, acids and bases only refer to aqueous (water-based) solutions, so pH paper won't change color in non-aqueous liquids, such as vegetable oil.

Litmus paper may be dampened with distilled water to give a color change for a gaseous sample.

Gases change the color of the entire litmus strip, since the whole surface is exposed. Neutral gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen, do not change the color of the pH paper.

Litmus paper that has changed from red to blue can be reused as blue litmus paper. Paper that has changed from blue to red can be reused as red litmus paper.

Limitations of the Litmus Test

The litmus test is quick and simple, but it suffers a few limitations.

First, it's not an accurate indicator of pH. It does not yield a numerical pH value.

Instead, it roughly indicates whether a sample is an acid or a base.

Second, the paper can change colors for other reasons besides an acid-base reaction.

For example, blue litmus paper turns white in chlorine gas. This color change is due to bleaching of the dye from hypochlorite ions, not acidity/basicity.

Alternatives to Litmus Paper

Litmus paper is handy as a general acid-base indicator, but you can get much more specific results if you use an indicator that has a more narrow test range or that offers a wider color range. 

Red cabbage juice, for example, changes color in response to pH all the way from red (pH = 2) through blue at neutral pH to greenish-yellow at pH = 12, plus you are more likely to find cabbage at the local grocery store than lichen.

The dyes orcein and azolitmin yield results comparable to those of litmus paper.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

·   Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

·   Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

·   ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

·   Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor. 

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

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