A piece of bibulous paper, moistened with silver nitrate, is held over the mouth of the tube, and if arsenic be present, a grey or black deposit is seen on the paper, due to the silver nitrate being reduced by the arseniuretted hydrogen.
Arsenic trihydride (arsine or arseniuretted hydrogen), AsH3, is formed by decomposing zinc arsenide with dilute sulphuric acid; by the action of nascent hydrogen on arsenious compounds, and by the electrolysis of solutions of arsenious and arsenic acids; it is also a product of the action of organic matter on many arsenic compounds.
In 1775 he investigated arsenic acid and its reactions, discovering arseniuretted hydrogen and "Scheele's green" (copper arsenite), a process for preparing which on a large scale he published in 1778.
The arseniuretted hydrogen produced is passed through a tube containing lead acetate paper and soda-lime, and finally through a narrow glass tube, constricted at various points, and heated by a very small flame.