Aluminium explosive

Aluminium explosive TNT, 31 per cent ammonium nitrate, 44.9 per cent aluminium wool, 24.1 per cent. 

Halogen derivatives of silanes can be obtained but direct halogena-tion often occurs with explosive violence the halogen derivatives are usually prepared by reacting the silane at low temperature with a carbon compound such as tetrachloromethane, in the presence of the corresponding aluminium halide which acts as a catalyst. 

The mixture of ammonium nitrate and powdered aluminium is an explosive known as ammonal. 

This is a disproportionation reaction, and is strongly catalysed by light and by a wide variety of materials, including many metals (for example copper and iron) especially if these materials have a large surface area. Some of these can induce explosive decomposition. Pure hydrogen peroxide can be kept in glass vessels in the dark, or in stone jars or in vessels made of pure aluminium with a smooth surface. 

Manganese is the third most abundant transition metal, and is widely distributed in the earth s crust. The most important ore is pyrolusite, manganese(IV) oxide. Reduction of this ore by heating with aluminium gives an explosive reaction, and the oxide Mn304 must be used to obtain the metal. The latter is purified by distillation in vacuo just above its melting point (1517 K) the pure metal can also he obtained by electrolysis of aqueous manganese(II) sulphate. 

Lithium aluminium hydride [16853-85-3] M 37.9, m 125 (dec). Extracted with EI2O, and, after filtering, the solvent was removed under vacuum. The residue was dried at 60 for 3h, under high vacuum [Ruff J Am Chem Soc 83 1788 1961], IGNITES in the presence of a small amount of water and reacts EXPLOSIVELY. 

In addition to the fluoroplastics and fluororubbers already described other fluoropolymers have been marketed. Polymers of hexafluoropropylene oxide are marketed by Du Pont (Krytox). These materials have a low molecular weight (2000-7000) and are either oils or greases. The oils are uses as lubricants, heat transfer fluids and non-flammable oils for diffusion pumps. The greases are also used as lubricants. They have good heat and oil resistance but it is said that explosions may result from contact with the surfaces aluminium or magnesium cuttings. 

Hydrogen can be prepared by the reaction of water or dilute acids on electropositive metals such as the alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, the metals of Groups 3, 4 and the lanthanoids. The reaction can be explosively violent. Convenient laboratory methods employ sodium amalgam or calcium with water, or zinc with hydrochloric acid. The reaction of aluminium or ferrosilicon with aqueous sodium hydroxide has also been used. For small-scale preparations the hydrolysis of metal hydrides is convenient, and this generates twice the amount of hydrogen as contained in the hydride, e.g. ... 

The early history of ionic liquid research was dominated by their application as electrochemical solvents. One of the first recognized uses of ionic liquids was as a solvent system for the room-temperature electrodeposition of aluminium [1]. In addition, much of the initial development of ionic liquids was focused on their use as electrolytes for battery and capacitor applications. Electrochemical studies in the ionic liquids have until recently been dominated by work in the room-temperature haloaluminate molten salts. This work has been extensively reviewed [2-9]. Development of non-haloaluminate ionic liquids over the past ten years has resulted in an explosion of research in these systems. However, recent reviews have provided only a cursory look at the application of these new ionic liquids as electrochemical solvents [10, 11]. 

There is an increasing interest in explosive bonding as a means of bonding aluminium-steel and other composite cladding systems. 

Aluminium coatings are not favoured in atmospheres containing explosive mixtures because contact with rusty steel can cause incendiary sparking, and for this reason aluminium coatings are not used for protection of structures in coalmines (cf. CP 2008 1966). 

Powdered aluminium can create explosive suspensions in air in the presence of an ignition source. It can combust spontaneously if the powder is moist. Aluminium powder detonates spontaneously in liquid oxygen. 

Aluminium powder can (depending on the surface texture of the metal) react with water, forming hydrogen, which can provoke explosions due to the overpressures created if the interaction occurs in a closed container. The same thing happens, whatever the surface texture, if the reaction occurs with an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. 

There was also the case of an accident caused by the explosion of a container due to overpressure. An aluminium chloride odium peroxide/powdered aluminium mixture in the container was kept like this for 41 days. Note that these three elements represent great deinger when water is present. 

With aluminium powder, sulphur has an extremely violent reaction, which can be explosive if an igniting flame is applied to the mixture. The flame is blinding. 

In contact with aluminium, disulphur dichloride provokes the instantaneous ignition of the metal. Lithium batteries contain thionyl chloride. A large number of explosions of batteries have been explained by the violent interaction of lithium with the chloride, which was assumed to be reieased through the anode. Sodium combusts in contact with thionyl chloride vapour heated to a temperature of 300°C. Finally, sulphur dichloride gives rise to explosive mixtures on impact with sodium. 

Sodium sulphate forms, in the presence of aluminium at 800°C, sodium sulphide. The reaction usually proves to be explosive and the usual method of preparing sodium sulphide from the sulphate uses carbon as a reducing agent. 

Detonation occurs during the reaction of molten aluminium with ammonium peroxodisulphate in the presence of water. However, since the temperature is above 75°C, the presence of water is sufficient to decompose it and the water/molten aluminium interaction has aiready been mentioned as being explosive. 

Chlorine has caused numerous accidents with metals. Beryllium becomes incandescent if it is heated in the presence of chlorine. Sodium, aluminium, aluminium/titanium alloy, magnesium (especially if water traces are present) combust in contact with chlorine, if they are in the form of powder. There was an explosion reported with molten aluminium and liquid chlorine. The same is true for boron (when it is heated to 400°C), active carbon and silicon. With white phosphorus there is a detonation even at -34°C (liquid chlorine). 

Hydrochloric acid generally reacts violently with electropositive metals such as aluminium or magnesium. With sodium the reaction is slow if hydrogen chloride is anaqueous, and explosive with aqueous acid. 

The same goes for carbon (the accident was caused because carbon was used instead of manganese dioxide, by mistake), sulphur and phosphorus. There was a detonation with carbon. With phosphorus the detonation occurred once the carbon disulphide used to dissolve phosphorus vapourised red phosphorus behaves the same way. The same happened with the potassium chlor-ate/sodium nitrate/sulphur/carbon mixture, which led to a violent detonation as well as with the potassium perchlorate/aluminium/potassium nitrate/barium nitrate/water mixture. In the last case the explosion took place after an induction period of 24h. 

Lead oxide reacts violently with numerous metals such as sodium powder (immediate ignition), aluminium (thermite reaction, which is often explosive), zirconium (detonation), titanium, some metalloids, boron (incandescence by heating), boron-silicon or boron-aluminium mixtures (detonation in the last two cases). Finally, silicon gives rise to a violent reaction unless it is combined with aluminium (violent detonation). It also catalyses the explosive decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. 

Carbon tetrachloride/triethyialuminium/aluminium chloride mixture is explosive at a temperature of 20°C. 

Trinitrophenol can only be stored safely in the form of a paste with water. Lead, mercury, copper, zinc, iron and nickel salts are sensitive to impact, friction and heat. Sodium, ammonium and amine salts give rise to explosions. When it was poured on to a cement floor, trinitrophenol formed a calcium salt that detonated when it came into contact with shoes. Trinitrophenol salts in the form of moist paste are stable. Aluminium salt is not explosive, but combusts spontaneously when in contact with water. 

When nitrobenzene is in the presence of aluminium chloride at a temperature greater than 90 C the mixture obtained is thermally unstable. Its decomposition is explosive pressure rises considerably and in a very short period of time. The following reaction that leads to the formation of very unstable compounds has been identified ... 

Nitromethane is very likely to detonate when aluminium powder is present. The same is true for a tetranitromethane/aluminium mixture. With aromatic nitrated derivatives, and in particular commercial explosives, the mixture with aluminium does not represent any danger. However, adding a drop of water causes spontaneous ignition that takes place within a time limit depending on quantities. 

The solvation property of the cations of this very polar aprotic solvent can make some salts more stable. Therefore, aluminium, sodium, mercury or silver perchlorate solutions are explosive. The same goes for iron (III) nitrate solutions. 

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