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Mercury Fulminate, Hg(ONC)2:




Hg + 3HNO3 => HgNO3 + HNO3 + NO2
HgNO3 + HNO3 + C2H6O => Hg(ONC)2

I know this equation doesn't balance but it would be extremely difficult to account for all the excess gases produced in this synthesis/nitration so this is as close as I could get.

Mercury fulminate is an unstable primary. All primaries are fairly unstable of course though, that’s why they’re primaries. It’s sensitive to shock, friction, flame and static electricity. It is recommended to dry it out of the sun (but it doesn't hurt if you do) because a very thin layer forms on top of it becuase of UV rays. Sometimes it can be difficult to get it completely dry so you may (I've never had to, but I also always dry it in direct sunlight) need a dessicator to get it completely dry. It won't form any dangerous salts if it contacts metals. I've found it to be fairly stable in comparison to other primaries and more powerful making it very useful as a detonator. It used to be the detonator of choice in the 1900’s until more stable primaries were developed later. It is fairly easy to make the only parts that really cause problems are the toxic fumes and that it sometimes boils over the top of the beaker a little (just a little, not enough to matter). With that said you should probably use a bigger beaker or a flask would work better actually. I would put that in this paper but I’m just recording what I did. It detonates at 4000-5000 m/s depending on how well it‘s pressed. It’s density is 2.5 g/mL and has a molecular weight of 284.634 g/mol. I’m not sure what it’s soluble or insoluble in but I know it doesn’t dissolve in water.

Things you'll need:

ReagentsApparatus
.5 mL Mercury, HgGraduated Cylinder
47 mL 70% Nitric Acid, HNO3Filter Paper
59 mL 96% Ethanol, C2H6OBeaker/Round Bottom Flask
Funnel

Obtaining Reagents:

You can get the 96% ethanol at just about any hardware store. It'll be under solvents and it will be called "denatured alcohol." It may not be 96% so read the back (or some part of it) carefully. I determined mine was 96% because it read that it had 4% methanol in it. I think you can get 62% nitric in sweden in shops called mata's. Don't quote me on that. Other than that I don't know where you can get it besides a lab, ordering it online, or synthesizing it. Mercury is another tough one. It's hardly used in any thermometers any more so you can't really check there. I'm sure you could order it online somewhere but other than that I'm not sure.

Procedure:

Pour the mercury into the beaker. Urbanski says that you can get a white product if you add copper (II) chloride to it. So I put a length of copper in the nitric acid until the solution turns light-medium green. Add the nitric acid to the mercury and let it sit until all the mercury dissolves. This will take about an hour or so. During this time poisonous red nitrogen dioxide (NO2) fumes will be given off so it’s recommended that this step be done outside or under a fume hood. Don’t stir it or anything, just let it sit there, it’ll take a while. While you’re waiting you could look at the mercury dissolve, I thought it was neat. After the mercury has completely dissolved you will have a solution of mercury (II) nitrate (HgNO3). Add to this solution the ethanol. It may bubble up all at once depending on how quickly you add the ethanol. Add it slowly (it still shouldn’t take more than thirty seconds to add it all). After a minute or two a vigorous reaction will begin to take place. It’ll start out slowly with a few bubbles here and there. Eventually it will come to a full boil and reach up to 80*C. While it’s doing this many many fumes will be given off, all of them are bad. Once again you’re reminded to do this outside or under a fume hood as these fumes a very toxic. You can see the mercury fulminate precipitating as it boils and gives off toxic fumes. In 10-15 minutes the reaction will start to subside and produce more red NO2 fumes. These fumes can be eliminated with 1 mL of ethanol. There should be a white “crusty” substance on top of your acid/nitrate mixture, this is mercury fulminate. There’ll also be some at the bottom. Fill the beaker the rest of the way with distilled water and decant a few times (I always decant three times). It should be neutral to blue litmus paper...but I don’t have any so I always just decant three times. Most of the mercury fulminate will sink to the bottom after water is added so you won’t lose much. Finally, pour in just a little bit of water and pour out your mercury fulminate unto filter paper to dry. The final yield after drying was about 7 grams, not bad.

Storage:

It's not wise to store primaries but sometimes it must be done. If you need to store mercury fulminate I advise putting it underwater for the duration of storage. If I ever need to take some to a friends house (for a detonator to get rid of some nasty stumps) I make the mercuric nitrate solution then take how much ethanol I need because it only takes fifteen minutes for the synthesis and two hours to dry. I'm not sure about how long it will store, I personally wouldn't store if for more than a week, but I also only make it right before I use it.

Acetone Peroxide, C9H18O6:




3(CH3)2CO + 3H2O2 => C9H18O6 + 3H2O

It's also called tricyclo acetone peroxide, or TCAP, but really it's a mixture of the tricyclo, dicyclo, and other polyperoxide versions. Acetone peroxide is the most sensitive explosive out there, period. It is extremely sensitive to shock, friction, and flame. It is THE MOST sensitive explosive out there (just repeating that in case you skipped over it the first time). Since it is so sensitive it’s often mixed with other less sensitive explosives in order to sensitize them. AP is often the first explosive made by the home chemist and it was mine. All the required reagents can all be obtained easily over the counter. This lab uses the common 3% variety of H2O2. A lot of people say that using 3% will decrease your yield but this isn't true, it simply needs longer to react to get then same yield. It has a VoD of about 5300 m/s at maximum density. It’s density is 1.18 g/mL and a molecular mass of 222.24 g/mol. It’s very soluble in ethanol which is convenient because you can dissolve it then transport it somewhere and crash it with water to recrystalize it. It's also soluble in acetone so when you do the reaction if you make an error in measurements make it to where there's extra H2O2.

Things You'll Need:

ReagentsApparatus
300mL 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, H2O2Beaker
100mL Acetone, C3H6OGraduated Cylinder
30-50mL Sulfuric Acid, H2SO4 Filter Pape
Funnel
Thermometer

Obtaining Reagents:

You can pick up 3% H2O2 at any drug store or Walmart or just about anywhere if you look good enough. You can get acetone at a hardware shop, it'll be with the solvents under the elusive name "acetone." Sulfuric acid can also be purchased at your local hardware store as drain cleaner. The bottle will be covered in a plastic baggy (probably) and will say on it somewhere that it has concentrated sulfuric acid in it. To find out the exact concentration check the density. If you can't find all the reagents for this lab then give up this hobby right now...yes now.

Procedure:

I always put my chemicals in the fridge first to cool down before I do any mixing but if you’re mom doesn’t want you to do this then you can omit this step. Mix the acetone and hydrogen peroxide together in the 600 mL beaker and cool it to less than 5*C. You’ll need to set the beaker in a salt ice bath to do this. You should fill the bath up to the line of the liquids in the beaker, if it’s above the liquids in the beaker the beaker won’t float because they have a higher density. After it’s cooled to below 5*C you can add the acid (it also helps to cool the acid down as adding the acid will produce some heat). You shouldn’t let the temperature get above 7*C, it’s ok if it does, it won’t explode or go into a runaway nitration. Try to keep at the most below 10*C. This will ensure that the tri-cyclo version if made rather than the di-cyclo. The trimer version is more stable (but still highly unstable) and more powerful than it’s dimer version...so keep the temperature low. You may want to add the acid about a mL or two at a time with constant stirring to prevent hotspots. You can use the thermometer to stir, oh, and make sure you use a glass thermometer. The acid addition takes a decent amount of time so I normally add acid until it's right at 5*C then go and do something else for ten minutes, come back, add more acid, and repeat. After the acid addition you should let it sit in the salt ice bath for about at least 24 hours depending on how much acid you used. For it to completely react I leave mine for 48 hours. You can use a little bit and wait a long time or a lot and wait hardly any time. If you take it out prematurely it'll be okay it's just that the yield will be reduced (der). Once you feel it’s sat long enough with occasional stirring you can filter it then wash it with a sodium bicarbonate solution to remove traces of acid (acidic AP is EXTRA sensitive) and then wash it a few more times with distilled water just to make sure. Then let it dry. My yield was 11.8 grams, I let it sit about 15 hours. You should only make this right before you plan on using it because it is so unstable.
Note: You can also use hydrochloric acid (HCl) for this lab but the synthesis will take a lot longer, however the temperature won't rise as much during the acid addition.

Storage:

It's best not to store it at all. Use it within a week of manufacturing is the general rule of thumb. If you do feel the urge to store it don't do it in a jar with a screw lid because it'll sublimate and recrystalize in the threads form super sensitive crystals that explode when you go to unscrew your jar full of AP. I've heard that it also loses power over time but I've never kept it around for more than a few days so I can't put add any truth to this claim.

Loser, go back home.



All this is mine, copywritten to me...the operator of this website.