Making Fuming Nitric Acid | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Fuming nitric acid is a highly corrosive and dangerous chemical that requires proper safety equipment and should only be used in a fume hood or outdoors.

Key Insights

• 🦺 Fuming nitric acid is highly concentrated and requires proper safety precautions.
• ✋ It is primarily used in organic chemistry for nitration reactions and in the production of high explosives.
• 🎮 The fuming nitric acid experiment requires potassium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid, with the distillation process needing to be carefully controlled.
• 🍵 Safety gear, such as butyl rubber gloves, is recommended when handling fuming nitric acid.
• 🔥 Latex gloves offer little protection against nitric acid burns and should not be used in this experiment.
• 🥊 Fuming nitric acid can dissolve copper and ignite nitrile and latex gloves.
• 🫢 The experiment should be conducted in a fume hood or outdoor area due to the production of toxic nitrogen dioxide gases and the volatile nature of nitric acid.

Transcript

Just as a warning, this experiment deals with highly corrosive and dangerous chemicals. This experiment must only be carried out in a fume hood or outdoors. Because toxic nitrogen dioxide gases are produced and nitric acid is quite volatile and is a very strong oxidizer. Proper safety gear is absolutely required. Commercially available nitric acid ... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What are the safety precautions for working with fuming nitric acid?

Working with fuming nitric acid requires a fume hood or outdoor setup, as toxic nitrogen dioxide gases and volatile nitric acid are produced. Proper safety gear, such as butyl rubber gloves, should be worn. Commercially available nitric acid is usually around 68%, while fuming nitric acid is greater than 86%.

Q: What are the uses of fuming nitric acid?

Fuming nitric acid is primarily used in organic chemistry to produce highly nitrated compounds and in the production of high explosives. It can also be used as an oxidizer in liquid-fueled rockets.

Q: How do you conduct the fuming nitric acid experiment?

The experiment requires potassium nitrate, concentrated sulfuric acid, and a round bottom flask. The sulfuric acid reacts with the potassium nitrate, and nitric acid is distilled off. The distillation should be done at a temperature around 83 degrees Celsius to limit the production of nitrogen dioxide gas.

Q: What safety precautions should be taken when working with fuming nitric acid?

It is important to work in a well-ventilated area, wear proper safety gear such as goggles and gloves, and avoid direct sunlight during the distillation process. Care should be taken to keep the temperature controlled and dispose of the chemicals properly after the experiment.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Fuming nitric acid is highly concentrated and has limited uses compared to conventional nitric acid.

• It is commonly used to produce highly nitrated compounds in organic chemistry and in the production of high explosives.

• To conduct the experiment, potassium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid are needed, and the distillation process should be done with caution.