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Informational purposes only! Do not attempt.
HMTD is one of the more commonly discussed organic peroxides. It is considered to be a better alternative to acetone peroxide when used for initiation because of its better stability and slightly lower sensitivity. It should be noted that being considered "a better alternative to acetone peroxide" does not in any way make HMTD a safe compound. No primary is "safe", especially organic peroxides. HMTD is extremely sensitive to heat, shock, friction and static. HMTD is not compatible with metals and can spontaneously detonate when in contact with them. Being so sensitive, HMTD's use is limited to initiators.
Safety Consideration
- Concentrated hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidizer and is corrosive. MSDS
- Hexamine MSDS
- Citric acid MSDS
- HMTD is an extremely sensitive primary that is heat, friction, shock and static sensitive. It must avoid coming into contact with any metals.
Safety Equipment
- Splash goggles
- Dust mask
- Nitrile gloves
Preparation of Hexamethylenetriperoxidediamine
Materials
- 250mL Beaker
- Thermometer
- Stirring rod/magnetic stirrer
- Graduated cylinder
- Scale
- Filter paper
- Ice
- Sodium chloride
- Distilled water
- Sodium bicarbonate
- Ethanol
- 25mL 35% Hydrogen peroxide
- 7g Hexamine
- 10.5g Citric acid
Procedure
- 25mL Concentrated hydrogen peroxide is measured and added to a 250mL beaker. The hydrogen peroxide is then chilled to 0C in a salt-ice bath or a freezer.
- 7g Hexamine is added to the hydrogen peroxide and stirred until dissolved. The solution is again chilled to 0C in a salt-ice bath or a freezer.
- 10.5g Citric acid is slowly added to the solution. The citric acid may have difficulty fully dissolving into the solution. The solution is stirred until the majority of citric acid dissolves.
- The solution is chilled to -5C in a salt-ice bath for one hour. During this hour the solution is stirred gently every 3-5 minutes. Citric acid that didn't dissolve should all dissolve during this step.
- The solution, still clear, is taken out of the ice bath and left at room temperature for 3 hours. After 75 minutes the solution begins to cloud and by 2 hours there is almost no liquid left.
- A small amount of distilled water is added to the HMTD mass so that it can be poured through filter paper.. The filtrate is washed with a solution of distilled water and sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the citric acid and help stabilize the product. The filtrate will then be washed with distilled water and finally be washed with ethanol.
- The HMTD is left to dry in a cool place, away form sunlight.
Storage
Organic peroxides should not be stored.
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