Uses of KMnO₄

The book lists five uses of potassium permanganate —

• An antiseptic.
• For unsaturation test in laboratory.
• In volumetric analysis of reducing agents.
• For detecting halides in qualitative analysis.
• Powerful oxidising agent in laboratory and industry.

Every entry on this list traces back to the same property the Remember box of 8.7 states: $\mathrm{KMnO_4}$ is a strong oxidising agent. As an antiseptic, dilute permanganate oxidises microbial matter; the unsaturation test and the volumetric estimation of reducing agents (e.g. $\mathrm{Fe^{2+}}$, oxalic acid) run on exactly the acidic-medium reactions listed in 8.7.2 a, where the intense purple $\mathrm{MnO_4^-}$ is decolour …