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What Is Litmus Paper? Understand the Litmus Test
You can make paper test strips to determine the pH of an aqueous solution by treating
filter paper with any of the common pH indicators. One of the first indicators used for this
purpose was litmus. Litmus paper is paper that has been treated with a specific indicator -
a mixture of 10-15 natural dyes obtained from lichens (mainly Roccella tinctoria) that
turns red in response to acidic conditions (pH 7). When the pH is neutral (pH = 7) then the
dye is purple. The first known use of litmus was around 1300 AD by Spanish alchemist
Arnaldus de Villa Nova. The blue dye has been extracted from lichens since the 16th
century. The word "litmus" comes from the old Norse word for "to dye or color". While all
litmus paper acts as pH paper, the converse is untrue. It's incorrect to refer to all pH paper
as "litmus paper".

Fast Facts: Litmus Paper

 Litmus paper is a type of pH paper made by treating paper with natural dyes from
lichens.
 The litmus test is performed by placing a small drop of sample onto the colored
paper.
 Usually, litmus paper is either red or blue. Red paper turns blue when the pH is
alkaline, while blue paper turns red when the pH turns acidic.
 While litmus paper is most often used to test the pH of liquids, it can be used to test
gases if the paper is dampened with distilled water before exposure to the gas.

Litmus Test
To perform the test, simple place a drop of liquid sample on a small strip of paper or dip a
piece of litmus paper in a small specimen of the sample. Ideally, you don't dip litmus paper
in an entire container of a chemical. The reason is that the dye could contaminate a
potentially valuable sample.

The litmus test is a quick method of determining whether a liquid or gaseous solution is
acidic or basic (alkaline). The test can be performed using litmus paper or an aqueous
solution containing litmus dye. Initially, litmus paper is either red or blue. The blue paper
changes color to red, indicating acidity somewhere between the pH range of 4.5 to 8.3
(however, note 8.3 is alkaline). Red litmus paper can indicate alkalinity with a color change
to blue. In general, litmus paper is red below pH of 4.5 and blue above a pH of 8.3.

If the paper turns purple, this indicates the pH is near neutral. Red paper that does not
change color indicates the sample is an acid. Blue paper that does not change color
indicates the sample is a base. Remember, acids and bases only refer to aqueous (water-
based) solutions, so pH paper won't change color in non-aqueous liquids, such as vegetable
oil.

Litmus paper may be dampened with distilled water to give a color change for a gaseous
sample. Gases change the color of the entire litmus strip, since the whole surface is
exposed. Neutral gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen, do not change the color of the pH
paper.
Litmus paper that has changed from red to blue can be reused as blue litmus paper. Paper
that has changed from blue to red can be reused as red litmus paper.

Limitations of the Litmus Test

The litmus test is quick and simple, but it suffers a few limitations. First, it's not an
accurate indicator of pH. It does not yield a numerical pH value. Instead, it roughly
indicates whether a sample is an acid or a base. Second, the paper can change colors for
other reasons besides an acid-base reaction. For example, blue litmus paper turns white in
chlorine gas. This color change is due to bleaching of the dye from hypochlorite ions, not
acidity/basicity.

Alternatives to Litmus Paper

Litmus paper is handy as a general acid-base indicator, but you can get much more specific
results if you use an indicator that has a more narrow test range or that offers a wider color
range. Red cabbage juice, for example, changes color in response to pH all the way from
red (pH = 2) through blue at neutral pH to greenish-yellow at pH = 12, plus you are more
likely to find cabbage at the local grocery store than lichen. The dyes orcein and azolitmin
yield results comparable to those of litmus paper.