Mononitrotoluene or nitrotoluene (MNT or NT), is any of three

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

s with the formula C₆H₄(CH₃)(NO₂). They can be viewed as

nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitro ligand ...

derivatives of

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon with the chemical formula , often abbreviated as , where Ph stands for the phenyl group. It is a colorless, water Water is an inorganic compound with the c ...

or as methylated derivatives of

nitrobenzene Nitrobenzene is an aromatic nitro compound and the simplest of the nitrobenzenes, with the chemical formula C6H5 NO2. It is a water-insoluble pale yellow oil with an almond-like odor. It freezes to give greenish-yellow crystals. It is produced ...

. Mononitrotoluene comes in four

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element (chemistry), element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. ''Isomerism'' refers to the exi ...

s, differing by the relative position of the

methyl In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as ...

and

groups. All are pale yellow with faint fragrances: * ''ortho''-nitrotoluene (also called ONT, ''o''-nitrotoluene, or 2-nitrotoluene). m.p. = −10.4 °C * ''meta''-nitrotoluene (MNT, ''m''-nitrotoluene, or 3-nitrotoluene). m.p. = 16 °C * ''para''-nitrotoluene (PNT, ''p''-nitrotoluene, or 4-nitrotoluene). m.p. = 44.5 °C * , in which the

benzylic In organic chemistry, benzyl is the substituent or molecular fragment possessing the structure . Benzyl features a benzene ring () attached to a methylene group (). Nomenclature In IUPAC nomenclature, the prefix benzyl refers to a substituent, ...

carbon is nitrated. m.p. = 80.7 °C. Typical use of nitrotoluene is in production of

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

s, agricultural chemicals, and photographic chemicals. ''Ortho''-mononitrotoluene and ''para''-mononitrotoluene can be also used as

detection taggant A taggant is any chemical or physical marker added to materials to allow various forms of testing or detection. Physical taggants can take many different forms but are typically microscopic in size, included at low levels, and simple to detect. ...

s for

explosive detection Explosive detection is a non-destructive inspection process to determine whether a container contains explosive material. Explosive detection is commonly used at airports, ports and for border control. Detection tools Colorimetrics & automated ...

References

External links

CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - m-Nitrotoluene

* ttps://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0464.html CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards - p-Nitrotoluene {{chemistry index Explosive chemicals Explosive detection Nitrotoluenes

See also

References

External links