• assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    5 months ago

    I remember in my orgo chemistry lab we were once running an experiment to add a single nitrate group to Toluene as part of a larger synthesis, and someone pointed out that if we left the reaction going too long, things could go boom.

    • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      5 months ago

      Yeah, it’s that sort of nasty reaction. Nitration is exothermic and its ratio depends on temperature, so all you need to get it exploding is to let the ice melt.

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        5 months ago

        …I think we did it on a hotplate.

        Maybe we were using toluene as a solvent or something. It’s been quite a while.

        • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          5 months ago

          You said that you only did the first nitration, right? You were probably using slightly less concentrated ingredients then. Doing it on a hotplate with oleum and fuming nitric (required for all three nitrations) is madness.