Dinitromethane is an
organic compound
In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon- hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. Th ...
with the
chemical formula
In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...
CH
2(NO
2)
2. Purified dinitromethane is a colorless liquid with a weak pleasant odor. It is relatively stable at room temperature and can be safely stored for months at 0 °C.
Synthesis
The
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosp ...
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...
of dinitromethanide, KCH(NO
2)
2, was first prepared by Villiers in 1884 by
reduction of bromodinitromethane.
Hydrogen fluoride and the potassium salt of dinitromethane react in
diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liq ...
to form dinitromethane.
Free dinitromethane was previously understood to be a pale, yellow oil that decomposed rapidly at ambient temperatures.
Dinitromethane should not be confused with
methylene dinitrate
Methylene may refer to:
* Methylene group or methylene bridge (CH2< or equivalently -CH2-), a part of a molecule connected to the rest of the molecule by two single bonds.
* An older name for methylidene (=CH2), a part of a molecule connected t ...
(CH
2(ONO
2)
2), which is produced as a byproduct in the production of the explosive
RDX
RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...
.
Safety
The transportation of dinitromethane is forbidden by the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
References
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Related
*
Nitromethane
Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as i ...
*
Trinitromethane
Trinitromethane, also referred to as nitroform, is a nitroalkane and oxidizer with chemical formula HC(NO2)3. It was first obtained in 1857 as the ammonium salt by the Russian chemist Leon Nikolaevich Shishkov (1830–1908). In 1900, it was dis ...
*
Tetranitromethane
Tetranitromethane or TNM is an organic oxidizer with chemical formula . Its chemical structure consists of four nitro groups attached to one carbon atom. In 1857 it was first synthesised by the reaction of sodium cyanoacetamide with nitric acid. ...
Nitroalkanes