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Chemistry Forums for Students => High School Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Cherostavik on August 31, 2020, 08:31:58 PM

Title: NH₄NO₃ Decomp?
Post by: Cherostavik on August 31, 2020, 08:31:58 PM

I was heating some ammonium nitrate and tbh forgot to set my usual 5 min alerts, and when I came back to check it I had a boiling, smoking, disgusting black liquid. Taken off heat it practically turned to cement and had to be chipped out of the beaker. I've hot filtered it through basic paper filters, recrystallized it, and ran acetone over the broken up crystals (I don't have a vacuum filter yet). Whatever the decomp product is, it's soluble in acetone and heavy enough in it to form a visible layer between store bought acetone, making a brown liquid. My question is, what actually IS this substance?

Title: Re: NH₄NO₃ Decomp?
Post by: Enthalpy on September 01, 2020, 07:33:20 AM

Welcome, Cherostavik! Happy to learn that it didn't kill you.