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{{For|oil of vitriol|Sulfuric acid}}

'''Vitriol''' is the general [[chemistry|chemical]] name encompassing a class of [[chemical compound]]s comprising [[sulfate]]s of certain metals{{snd}}originally, [[iron]] or [[copper]].  Those mineral substances were distinguished by their color, such as green vitriol for hydrated [[iron(II) sulfate]] and blue vitriol for hydrated [[copper(II) sulfate]].<ref name=ebrit.vitriol>"[https://www.britannica.com/science/vitriol Vitriol]" entry in the online Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed on 2020-08-28.</ref>

These materials were found originally as crystals formed by evaporation of groundwater that percolated through [[sulfide]] minerals and collected in pools on the floors of old [[Mining|mine]]s. The word ''vitriol'' comes from the Latin word ''vitriolus'', meaning "small glass", as those crystals resembled small pieces of colored glass.

Oil of vitriol was an old name for concentrated [[sulfuric acid]], which was historically obtained through the [[destructive distillation]] ([[pyrolysis]]) of vitriols ([[sulfates]]).<ref name=TransRS103>{{cite journal | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/101146| title = Some Observations and Experiments about Vitriol, Tending to Find Out the Nature of That Substance, and to Give Further Light in the Inquiry after the Principles and Properties of Other Minerals: Communicated by a Fellow of the R. Society, Who Maketh Use of Chymistry Chiefly as Subservient to Physiology |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London| volume = 9| issue = 103 | pages = 41–47| year = 1674}}</ref>  The name, abbreviated to vitriol, continued to be used for this viscous liquid long after the minerals came to be termed "sulfates".  The figurative term ''vitriolic'' in the sense of "harshly condemnatory" is derived from the corrosive nature of this substance.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
!data-sort-type="text"|Vitriol!!data-sort-type="text"|Chemical!! scope="col" class="unsortable" data-sort-type="text"|Comment!!data-sort-type="text"|Formula
!Image
|-
| Black vitriol ||  &nbsp;  ||  Sulfate • Heptahydrate ( Hydrated Sulfate){{ref label|Comment|A|A}} ||[Cu,Mg,Fe,Mn,Co,Ni]SO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O{{ref label|Bloxam|B|B}}
|
|-
| Blue vitriol/Vitriol of Cyprus/Roman vitriol<ref>[https://www.chembk.com/en/chem/roman%20vitriol Roman vitriol on Chembk CAS Database]</ref> ||[[copper(II) sulfate]] ||  pentahydrate  || CuSO<sub>4</sub>·5H<sub>2</sub>O
|	[[File:Blue vitriol monocrystal.jpg|frameless]]
|-
| Green vitriol/Copperas ||[[iron(II) sulfate]] ||  heptahydrate ||  FeSO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O
|[[File:Iron(II)-sulfate-heptahydrate-sample.jpg|frameless]]
|-
| Oil of vitriol/Spirit of vitriol ||  [[sulfuric acid]] || [[acid]] || H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>
|[[File:Sulphuric acid 96 percent extra pure.jpg|frameless|center|upright]]
|-
| Red vitriol ||  [[cobalt(II) sulfate]] ||  heptahydrate  || CoSO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O
|[[File:Cobaltsulfat.JPG|frameless|center|upright=0.8]]
|-
| Sweet oil of vitriol ||  [[diethyl ether]] || Not a sulfate, but can be synthesized from sulfuric acid and ethanol<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/chemistry/organic-chemistry-ii/alcohols-and-ethers/synthesis-of-ethers|title=Synthesis of Ethers}}</ref>|| CH<sub>3</sub>-CH<sub>2</sub>-O-CH<sub>2</sub>-CH<sub>3</sub>
|[[File:Diethyl ether by Danny S. - 001.JPG|alt=Diethyl ether liquid in a brown-tinted glass bottle|frameless]]
|-
| Vitriol of argile/Vitriol of clay ||[[aluminium sulfate]] ||  alum|| Al<sub>2</sub>(SO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub>
|[[File: Aluminium sulfate.jpg|frameless]]
|-
| Vitriol of Mars ||  [[iron(III) sulfate]] || [[Ferric sulfate]] || Fe<sub>2</sub>(SO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub> 
|[[File: Síran železitý.JPG|frameless]]
|-
| White vitriol ||  [[zinc sulfate]] ||  heptahydrate|| ZnSO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O
|[[File:Zinc_Sulfate.jpg|frameless]]
|}
{|
|-
|{{note label|Comment|A|A}} Many sources state that black vitriol "is a mixture of iron sulfate and iron sulfite", but none give a reference of any sort. The book, ''Chemistry, Inorganic & Organic, with Experiments'', by Bloxam<ref name="bloxam"/> is a published, reliable reference for the composition of ''black vitriol'', and it states on page 513, "The formula of black vitriol may be written [CuMgFeMnCoNi]SO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O, the six isomorphous metals being interchangeable without altering the general character of the salt."
|-
|{{note label|Bloxam|B|B}} "Any combination of these elements may be found in black vitriol."<ref name="bloxam">{{cite book|last1=Bloxam|first1=Charles Loudon|last2=Bloxam|first2=Arthur G.|last3=Lewis|first3=S. Judd|title=Chemistry, Inorganic & Organic, with Experiments|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924002966764|date=1913|publisher=P. Blakiston's Son & Co|location=Philadelphia|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924002966764/page/n528 513]|edition=Tenth|language=English|chapter=Copper, Cu = 63.57|quote=The formula of black vitriol may be written [CuMgFeMnCoNi]SO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O, the six isomorphous metals being interchangeable without altering the general character of the salt.}}</ref>
|} <!-- ''vitriol of lead'', [[Lead(II) sulfate|plumbous (lead(II)) sulfate.]]-->

==History==
The study of vitriol began during [[classical antiquity|ancient times]]. [[Sumer]]ians had a list of types of vitriol that they classified according to the substances' color. Some of the earliest discussions of the origin and properties of vitriol is in the works of the Greek physician [[Dioscorides]] (first century AD) and the Roman naturalist [[Pliny the Elder]] (23–79 AD). [[Galen]] also discussed its medical use. Metallurgical uses for vitriolic substances were recorded in the Hellenistic alchemical works of [[Zosimos of Panopolis]], in the treatise ''Phisica et Mystica'', and the [[Leyden papyrus X]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Karpenko|first1=Vladimír|last2=Norris|first2=John A.|year=2002|title=Vitriol in the History of Chemistry|journal=Chemické listy|volume=96|issue=12|pages=997–1005|url=http://www.chemicke-listy.cz/ojs3/index.php/chemicke-listy/article/view/2266}}</ref>

[[Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam|Medieval Islamic chemists]] like [[Jabir ibn Hayyan|Jābir ibn Ḥayyān]] (died c. 806–816 AD, known in Latin as Geber), [[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi|Abū Bakr al-Rāzī]] (865–925 AD, known in Latin as Rhazes), [[Ibn Sina]] (980–1037 AD, known in Latin as Avicenna), and [[Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Watwat]] (1234–1318 AD) included vitriol in their mineral classification lists.<ref>{{harvnb|Karpenko|Norris|2002|pp=999–1000}}.</ref>

Sulfuric acid was termed "oil of vitriol" by medieval European alchemists because it did not evaporate spontaneously in air (hence ''oil'' vs ''spirit'' in archaic parlance), and it was prepared by roasting "green vitriol" (typically a mixture of Iron and Copper Sulfates) in an iron [[retort]]. The first vague allusions to it appear in the works of [[Vincent of Beauvais]], in the ''Compositum de Compositis'' ascribed to Saint [[Albertus Magnus]], and in [[pseudo-Geber]]'s ''Summa perfectionis'' (all thirteenth century AD).<ref>{{harvnb|Karpenko|Norris|2002|pp=1002–1004}}.</ref>

Systematic attempts to identify and analyze the nature of the various substances classed as vitriols were in full swing by the late 17th Century.<ref name=TransRS103/>

==References==
{{wiktionary|vitriol}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Chemistry index}}
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[[Category:Sulfuric acid]]