Table 1 lists some common classes of laboratory chemicals that have the potential for producing a violent explosion when subjected to shock or friction. These chemicals should never be disposed of as such, but should be handled by procedures given in Ref. 1, especially Chapter 8. Additional information on these, as well as on some less common classes of explosives, can be found in Ref. 2.
Table 2 lists some illustrative combinations of common laboratory reagents that can produce explosions when they are brought together or that form reaction products that can explode without any apparent external initiating action. This list is not exhaustive, and additional information on potentially explosive reagent combinations can be found in Ref. 3.
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Acetylenic compounds, especially polyacetylenes, haloacetylenes, and heavy metal salts of acetylenes (copper, silver, and mercury salts are particularly sensitive) |
Acyl nitrates |
Alkyl nitrates, particularly polyol nitrates such as nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine |
Alkyl and acyl nitrites |
Alkyl perchlorates |
Amminemetal oxosalts: metal compounds with coordinated ammonia, hydrazine, or similar nitrogenous donors and ionic perchlorate, nitrate, permanganate, or other oxidizing group |
Azides, including metal, nonmetal, and organic azides |
Chlorite salts of metals, such as AgClO2 and Hg(ClO2)2 |
Diazo compounds such as CH2N2 |
Diazonium slats, when dry |
Fulminates (silver fulminate, AgCNO, can form in the reaction mixture from the Tollens’ test for aldehydes if it is allowed to stand for some time; this can be prevented by adding dilute nitric acid to the test mixture as soon as the test has been completed) |
Hydrogen peroxide becomes increasingly treacherous as the concentration rises above 30%, forming explosive mixtures with organic materials and decomposing violently in the presence of traces of transition metals |
N–Halogen compounds such as difluoroamino compounds and halogen azides |
N–Nitro compounds such as N–nitromethylamine, nitrourea, nitroguanidine, and nitric amide |
Oxo salts of nitrogenous bases: perchlorates, dichromates, nitrates, iodates, chlorites, chlorates, and permanganates of ammonia, amines, hydroxylamine, guanidine, etc. |
Perchlorate salts. Most metal, nonmetal, and amine perchlorates can be detonated and may undergo violent reaction in contact with combustible materials |
Peroxides and hydroperoxides, organic (see Chapter 6, Section II.P) |
Peroxides (solid) that crystallize from or are left from evaporation of peroxidizable solvents (see Chapter 6 and Appendix I) |
Peroxides, transition–metal salts |