Property and Preparation of Glycerine Dinitrate

Glycerine dinitrate, also called dinitro glycerine, is a viscous light yellow liquid with lower explosive property than nitroglycerine. Glycerine dinitrate has two 

Color/appearance Slightly odorous transparent yellow liquid 

The commercial isomers of glycerine dinitrate have a density of 1.47 (15 °C) and are frozen at 40 °C. At the pressure of 15 mmHg, the distillate collected at 146 °C will not be decomposed. Glycerine dinitrate can be dissolved into most of organic reagents, but carbon tetrachloride and gasoline. It can dissolve collodion easily. The solubility in water is 8.6 % at 20 °C [24]. 

The heat resistance of glycerine dinitrate is better than nitroglycerine. In the Abel test, the decomposition phenomenon only can be observed at set temperature for 16 days. At 150 °C, brown nitrogen oxide can be released. Its explosive decomposition temperature is above 170 °C. 

The explosive decomposition of glycerine dinitrate takes place based on the following equation. 

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