Make Pyrophoric Iron

You've all seen steel wool burn when a 9 volt battery is shorted across it or lit with a torch. This is a quick video showing the basic preparation of spontaneously combustible (pyrophoric) iron, which does not need any activation energy to burn. Please take note: Oxalic acid and its salts are HIGHLY TOXIC. This is due to insoluble Calcium oxalate accumulating in the kidney and around the bones, causing excruciating pain (Fun fact: Ethylene glycol is toxic because it metabolises to oxalic acid in the body). Pyrophoric Iron is also a fire hazard that will ignite flammables. Iron(II) oxalate is prepared by the reaction of an Iron salt with Oxalic acid, forming a yellow Iron(II) oxalate precipitant and the corresponding acid. The Fe-oxalate is filtered and dessicated. The dry powder is placed in a test tube and heated over a hot flame until the colour changes to black. The powder is then poured onto the ground (making sure it is not flammable), causing sparks. If the powder is poured into ethanol, the ethanol will catch fire (See this on TheNaKLab's channel - I will be posting a video as well). The Pyrophoric Iron particles, when viewed under a microscope, are determined to be from approximately 100 nm to 1 micron in size. If you're watching my videos you might know that chemistry and electricity are quite expensive hobbies. If you like my videos please consider donating to me via PayPal; every cent is much appreciated and really helps improve and fund the channel. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=BTGCFJYNSAT7E