How To Shrink Paper Money: A Macroscopic Demonstration of the Malaprade Reaction

Shrinking paper money is a captivating and memorable demonstration of chemistry in action that can be carried out using minimal equipment and reagents. Paper bills can be shrunk down to similar to 25% of their initial surface area by treating them with an aqueous solution of sodium periodate. The cellulose in the paper bill is oxidized to dialdehyde cellulose via the Malaprade reaction, and the resulting change in size of the paper money provides macroscopic evidence of the reaction. The chemical change that occurs in the cellulose can be confirmed by a Tollen's test.