NaOH and Metal(or something)

[observer1]

So i searched some fireworks and found one  which contains only sulfur and some silvery metal pieces.
I added NaOH into it and the metal pieces started bubbling and turned black and the gas that came was not that smelly but was chocking
the thing i wanted to do was to take a mix of solid NaOH and the powder and add water to it so that the heat from NaOH dissolving could help react NaOH and sulfur to make Na2S and Na2S2O3
so my doubt is what could the metal be?
properties:-
silvery
reacts with NaOH and becomes black
releases some gas when reacted with NaOH
Brittle
used in fireworks

[TheVat]

Probably aluminum.  Aluminum is amphoteric.   It interacts with acids and bases to form a salt and hydrogen. 

[observer1]

do they really keep it in fireworks?
any way to see if it really is aluminium?

[chenbeier]

Do an Analyse of it. Dissolve in acid and use alizarin.

[Sensei]

On 1/27/2024 at 3:53 PM, TheVat said:

Probably aluminum.  Aluminum is amphoteric.   It interacts with acids and bases to form a salt and hydrogen. 

..all good, except Aluminum compounds are generally white..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_aluminate

He said:

On 1/27/2024 at 1:14 PM, observer1 said:

I added NaOH into it and the metal pieces started bubbling and turned black..

Check whether hydrogen was released by the flame..

On 1/27/2024 at 1:14 PM, observer1 said:

and the gas that came was not that smelly but was chocking

Hydrogen gas does not smell, and is not chocking..

 

[John Cuthber]

If you dissolve "aluminium" in alkali it turns black because other elements present in the alloy (notably copper) don't dissolve and very finely powdered metals are black.


Hydrogen gas is not "choking" but a spray of sodium hydroxide solution is.
 

[HarvianRoid]

Hi, currently I also do some experiments with NaOH, just looking for info here and found this topic. About a year ago, I also disassembled fireworks, so that silvery stuff in your fireworks that reacts with NaOH is probably an alkali metal, like strontium or lithium or more likely aluminum. These guys are famous for their shiny look, how they react with bases like NaOH, and for making fireworks light up in different colors. The black stuff left behind? That could be an oxide. As for the gas, it might be hydrogen or something with sulfur in it. If you're still not sure, I'd say hit the books or read some online materials like https://edubirdie.com/docs/harvard-university/chem-40-inorganic-chemistry you're never too old to learn, trust me! Just remember to be careful when messing around with chemicals and stick to the safety rules. It is better to be more careful with flammable substances (unfortunately, I know this from my own experience) But I think in general it's a problem to find information about it on the Internet, because fireworks are easily accessible and therefore become a great material for research

Edited February 20 by HarvianRoid

[exchemist]

42 minutes ago, HarvianRoid said:

Hi, currently I also do some experiments with NaOH, just looking for info here and found this topic. About a year ago, I also disassembled fireworks, so that silvery stuff in your fireworks that reacts with NaOH is probably an alkali metal, like strontium or lithium or more likely aluminum. These guys are famous for their shiny look, how they react with bases like NaOH, and for making fireworks light up in different colors. The black stuff left behind? That could be an oxide. As for the gas, it might be hydrogen or something with sulfur in it. If you're still not sure, I'd say hit the books or read some online materials like https://edubirdie.com/docs/harvard-university/chem-40-inorganic-chemistry you're never too old to learn, trust me! Just remember to be careful when messing around with chemicals and stick to the safety rules. It is better to be more careful with flammable substances (unfortunately, I know this from my own experience) But I think in general it's a problem to find information about it on the Internet, because fireworks are easily accessible and therefore become a great material for research

Not an alkali metal, as all of these react pretty violently with oxygen in the air.