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Specialty Chemistry Forums => Other Sciences Question Forum => Topic started by: arboc on November 20, 2004, 02:27:39 PM

Title: Ammonium Nitrite
Post by: arboc on November 20, 2004, 02:27:39 PM

Does anyone have any information about ammonium nitrite (NH₄NO₂)? I've searched several chemical databases and found nothing.

Thanks.

Title: Re:Ammonium Nitrite
Post by: limpet chicken on November 20, 2004, 02:47:07 PM

Ammonium nitrate is an oxidising agent, its quite hygroscopic, I actually happen to have a tesco marmalade jar full of AN by my computer, its in the form of little white prills, about 1mm in diameter, and when fused, reacts very vigourously with metals preheated to a dull red glow.

AN can be used in explosives, the typical and imfamous one is AN/fuel oil or ANFO, but this requires a powerful blasting cap to initiate, other more exotic compositions use hydrazine, or hydrazine and aluminium, these are roughly the same power as ANFO I believe, but slightly more easily initiated.

Sorry, I read nitrAte in your post at first, here is what little I know on the nitrite, its white crystals, that decompose on heating to give off nitrogen, its made by oxidising ammonia with ozone o H2O2.

Title: Re:Ammonium Nitrite
Post by: arboc on November 21, 2004, 10:02:56 AM

Thanks for the info.

Title: Re:Ammonium Nitrite
Post by: AWK on November 22, 2004, 02:31:04 AM

Ammonium nitrite (NH4NO2) is highly unstable at room temperature.
NH₄NO₂ = N₂ + 2H₂O
It can be formed in the double replacement reaction grom sodium nitrite and any ammonium salt. This reaction is used for removing ammonium cation from the mixture of cations during
inorganic qualitative analysis.