Sciencemadness Discussion Board

In-demand reagents

BenJ - 2-9-2025 at 14:26

Hello,

First time posting so apologies if I get something wrong.

I have just completed a degree in chemistry and was thinking about starting a small-scale chemical supply business as a hobby. My question is what to sell!

I thought I would put this here with the question: what reagents do amateurs find difficult to obtain which might be viable to sell?

There are obviously the common ones like acids, nitrates etc but I was thinking about slightly more niche ones. Inorganic, organic, you name it! All ideas appreciated!

Thanks!

bnull - 2-9-2025 at 15:57

Welcome to the forum.

The first question is, what would you like to buy if you were an amateur chemist on a budget? Most of the amateurs and some of the professionals are.

Offer small quantities at competitive prices. Not everyone needs a 1 kg bag of oxalic acid when 100 g or less would do.

Take a look at what the other sellers here in the forum have and see what is missing.

See the laws of your country and avoid selling stuff that might make The Law knock at your door.

These days of tariffs and taxes, try to go local at first.

Have you considered selling disposable materials? Centrifuge tubes, Petri dishes, and so on and so on. These things tend to hit the bin sooner or later and need replacement.

Edit: One more thing. Don't rush and don't get yourself into heavy debt. Hobbies can turn into nightmares.

[Edited on 3-9-2025 by bnull]

j_sum1 - 2-9-2025 at 16:53

Helpful if you say where you are located.
Different regions have different issues with respect to obtaining chemicals.
Also important to have a system for shipping. Preferably cheaply.


Mjneral acids are a staple and always needed.

nzlostpass - 2-9-2025 at 16:54

I'd happily buy Ac2O off you (or anyone else) regularly if you're prepared to ship international at my expense if it goes missing.

BenJ - 3-9-2025 at 02:52

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Helpful if you say where you are located.
Different regions have different issues with respect to obtaining chemicals.
Also important to have a system for shipping. Preferably cheaply.


Mjneral acids are a staple and always needed.


I’m in the UK. Do you know of anything specific to the UK which is hard to obtain? Most mineral acids have an added complication in the UK due to regulation.

BenJ - 3-9-2025 at 02:56

Quote: Originally posted by nzlostpass  
I'd happily buy Ac2O off you (or anyone else) regularly if you're prepared to ship international at my expense if it goes missing.


I think the main obstacle would be shipping. Where are you located?

[Edited on 3-9-2025 by BenJ]

teodor - 3-9-2025 at 07:36

If you will have both individuals and business the selling to individuals will require more processing then selling to businesses, so many companies refuses selling to individuals. If your goal is just money selling to individuals is a hassle.

But if you are here, I believe you want to sell to individuals.

In this case search for occasions like business/lab liquidations, some batches of chemicals on low price etc and buy when the price is good and you have ability to store it properly. This is kind of investment.

For starting operations I would just take requests and backorder things. Those things which are asked often stock. Your income is the difference between batch price and retail price minus operations. Maintaining stock requires time.

I had a similar idea but don't see it profitable yet. Or, to say it different way, some other ideas occupy my time.

nzlostpass - 3-9-2025 at 20:28

Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  
Quote: Originally posted by nzlostpass  
I'd happily buy Ac2O off you (or anyone else) regularly if you're prepared to ship international at my expense if it goes missing.


I think the main obstacle would be shipping. Where are you located?

[Edited on 3-9-2025 by BenJ]


New Zealand, would need label removed or put in a bottle that has a label from a common, inert substance.
Obviously if it gets caught, it would be my loss.

BenJ - 4-9-2025 at 03:18

Quote: Originally posted by teodor  
If you will have both individuals and business the selling to individuals will require more processing then selling to businesses, so many companies refuses selling to individuals. If your goal is just money selling to individuals is a hassle.

But if you are here, I believe you want to sell to individuals.

In this case search for occasions like business/lab liquidations, some batches of chemicals on low price etc and buy when the price is good and you have ability to store it properly. This is kind of investment.

For starting operations I would just take requests and backorder things. Those things which are asked often stock. Your income is the difference between batch price and retail price minus operations. Maintaining stock requires time.

I had a similar idea but don't see it profitable yet. Or, to say it different way, some other ideas occupy my time.


Yeah I’m not really looking to make money, I’m interested in doing it as more of a hobby.

I think that’s a good idea about taking requests to start with.

I’m just looking to get a sense of what sort of things people on here find hard to find. I think trying to sell super common things like sodium bicarbonate etc wouldn’t work as it would be pretty hard to break even.

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by BenJ]

thoughts

Sulaiman - 4-9-2025 at 03:37

1 shipping costs from uk are not cheap

2 potential customers will want to know shipping costs before ordering

3 the chemicals that we will most want will be regulated in uk

4 I suggest that you start more as a group-buy coordinator (with commision) than as a business.
You should only order AFTER you get enough genuine orders.
Interest in buying is not the same as commitment to buying.

teodor - 4-9-2025 at 04:08

Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  
Quote: Originally posted by teodor  
If you will have both individuals and business the selling to individuals will require more processing then selling to businesses, so many companies refuses selling to individuals. If your goal is just money selling to individuals is a hassle.

But if you are here, I believe you want to sell to individuals.

In this case search for occasions like business/lab liquidations, some batches of chemicals on low price etc and buy when the price is good and you have ability to store it properly. This is kind of investment.

For starting operations I would just take requests and backorder things. Those things which are asked often stock. Your income is the difference between batch price and retail price minus operations. Maintaining stock requires time.

I had a similar idea but don't see it profitable yet. Or, to say it different way, some other ideas occupy my time.


Yeah I’m not really looking to make money, I’m interested in doing it as more of a hobby.

I think that’s a good idea about taking requests to start with.

I’m just looking to get a sense of what sort of things people on here find hard to find. I think trying to sell super common things like sodium bicarbonate etc wouldn’t work as it would be pretty hard to break even.

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by BenJ]


On my experience the main question is a price and often a delivery time. Making niche on selling what is hard to find is not quite possible. I am telling only for myself: big selection + good price + good bottles + reasonable fast delivery is the most valuable in the order from highest wanted to "I can leave without". So, it should be a single place where I can select everything what I need and pay delivery price only once. The second - good price. Obvious. Good bottles is very often ignored by sellers. But this is very important psychological part which brings satisfaction even if you didn't use chemicals yet. It should have accurate label also saying purity, storage conditions (we are amateurs) etc. And the last in this list is delivery time. Because there are some good shops which can satisfy 2, 3 but stable selection and predictable delivery is a weak point. Improving those 4 things you can create a good shops with constant demand and ocassionally you can sell something people is unable to find, but based on additional request, like "ask for quotation" form. So, not making this as a prime feature.

P.S. Also, some chemicals it is better to sell only for clients you already know well. That's why I don't recommend to make emphasis only on "hard to find chemicals".

Aslo, out of curiousity, what is possible delivery price + taxes from NZ to EU for 4 kg of chemicals?

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]

Keras - 4-9-2025 at 06:23

Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  

I’m in the UK. Do you know of anything specific to the UK which is hard to obtain? Most mineral acids have an added complication in the UK due to regulation.


Unfortunately Brexit all coc*ed it up. Before that it was easy to send things from Britain to the mainland. Nowadays, it has become a giant pain in the neck.

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by Keras]

teodor - 4-9-2025 at 06:55

Oh, you are in UK, BenJ? Where I get NZ? Nevermind.

I order books from different UK shops quite regularly and would say the delivery is based on a post options. Sometimes I get the book next day. Sometimes I pay taxes, sometimes it is already paid by a sender. Sometimes the books are returning to sender because .... I don't know why. The pain in the neck is when the sender uses a wrong postage service - this is my experience. The things are really completely different with different sending options. The similar situation is with US shops, but in average this is much more unpredictable.

Well, if you like to get the list, I will be feelling better if I would always know where to buy (in case I will need):

conc H2O2
HNO3
Different fluorides (esp. in higher oxidation state)
HClO4
H2SO4, oleum
chlorosulfonic acid
(COCl)2
SOCl2
Ac2O
B2O3
P, PCl5
Sb powder
As compounds
Alkali & alkali earth metals
Hg
Tl salts
Rare earths, metals and salts
U salts
Different anhydrous chlorides (with any element, PCl5 was already mentioned)
AgNO3 at a good price
any rare metals at a good price


[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]

BenJ - 4-9-2025 at 09:27

Quote: Originally posted by Keras  
Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  

I’m in the UK. Do you know of anything specific to the UK which is hard to obtain? Most mineral acids have an added complication in the UK due to regulation.


Unfortunately Brexit all coc*ed it up. Before that it was easy to send things from Britain to the mainland. Nowadays, it has become a giant pain in the neck.

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by Keras]


Yep, as well as all the additional regulation the UK has seen fit to impose since.

BenJ - 4-9-2025 at 09:33

Quote: Originally posted by teodor  
Oh, you are in UK, BenJ? Where I get NZ? Nevermind.

I order books from different UK shops quite regularly and would say the delivery is based on a post options. Sometimes I get the book next day. Sometimes I pay taxes, sometimes it is already paid by a sender. Sometimes the books are returning to sender because .... I don't know why. The pain in the neck is when the sender uses a wrong postage service - this is my experience. The things are really completely different with different sending options. The similar situation is with US shops, but in average this is much more unpredictable.

Well, if you like to get the list, I will be feelling better if I would always know where to buy (in case I will need):

conc H2O2
HNO3
Different fluorides (esp. in higher oxidation state)
HClO4
H2SO4, oleum
chlorosulfonic acid
(COCl)2
SOCl2
Ac2O
B2O3
P, PCl5
Sb powder
As compounds
Alkali & alkali earth metals
Hg
Tl salts
Rare earths, metals and salts
U salts
Different anhydrous chlorides (with any element, PCl5 was already mentioned)
AgNO3 at a good price
any rare metals at a good price


[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by teodor]


Yeah I’m in the UK. NZ was someone else asking about shipping.

Thank you for the list. That’s something for me to start thinking about.

Yeah the UK-EU shipping is a bit of a mess.

Are there any organics which spring to mind?

Also, a good point about the packaging. So many times stuff arrives in a flimsy plastic bag. I’ve found somewhere which sells nice UN-approved HDPE bottles.


[Edited on 4-9-2025 by BenJ]

teodor - 4-9-2025 at 10:09

Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  

Are there any organics which spring to mind?

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by BenJ]


Different types of chlorinated solvents (methyl line CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, ethyl line, ...)
Hexamethylphosphoramide
Aniline
Benzene
Nitrobenzene
(pyridine)
(quinoline)
indicators - all those compounds used for qualitative inorganic tests, can make a separate list

this is a short list but I need to think more, there were a lot of things which stopped me to do something I planned in past.

At this momend aniline is my most wanted organic compound, I doubt it is prohibited. There are a lot of things which are not prohibited but I don't know any source for them. This is most about organics.

Well, sodium cyanide is often used in organic reaction and I would feel uncomphortable if I will not be able to restore amount I will use.

But I think you've got my lists. If I will have mood & time to extend the organic list I will U2U you just not to make much noise here.

BenJ - 5-9-2025 at 07:51

Quote: Originally posted by teodor  
Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  

Are there any organics which spring to mind?

[Edited on 4-9-2025 by BenJ]


Different types of chlorinated solvents (methyl line CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, ethyl line, ...)
Hexamethylphosphoramide
Aniline
Benzene
Nitrobenzene
(pyridine)
(quinoline)
indicators - all those compounds used for qualitative inorganic tests, can make a separate list

this is a short list but I need to think more, there were a lot of things which stopped me to do something I planned in past.

At this momend aniline is my most wanted organic compound, I doubt it is prohibited. There are a lot of things which are not prohibited but I don't know any source for them. This is most about organics.

Well, sodium cyanide is often used in organic reaction and I would feel uncomphortable if I will not be able to restore amount I will use.

But I think you've got my lists. If I will have mood & time to extend the organic list I will U2U you just not to make much noise here.



Thanks! I might be able to help you on the aniline, how much do you need?

[Edited on 5-9-2025 by BenJ]

Production vs. redistribution

chloric1 - 6-9-2025 at 06:16

Redistribution of bulk quantities into smaller portion sizes is a straightforward sales strategy. But it’s a low bar so you will have to drive traffic some way and stand out from competitors. Also, profitability is limited per unit and it only becomes a career when you are able to move MASSIVE quantities in a short period of time. Gets more challenging if you need to import your inventory. It’s not a bad side hustle especially if you desire to use the products you sell for your own use since your per unit costs is less than half of retail.

Production on the other hand is far more lucrative since the price gap between raw materials and finished product is considerably wider allowing you more wiggle room for coupons, promotions and special offers. Also, if your raw material feedstock is domestically sourced you eliminate a lot of logistics costs and have a more rapid turnover rate. Plus customers will be more enthusiastic since you won’t run out of stock for extended periods. With production, you can create a tighter niche and unique brand which will be just as valuable as the product itself. One of the best things to sell is information. This is quite important in this Ai digital era. The only costs is the time to gather and organize the data and information and a platform or methodology to securely market and distribute the finished product

moviez - 6-9-2025 at 14:17

Hi. Welcome to the Forum!

I’m in the United States but I can offer my two cents. Whatever difficult to get in U.S., it would most likely be difficult to obtain somewhere else in the developed countries.

1. Nitrites (sodium, potassium, etc). It’s incredibly difficult to get pure nitrites here in the U.S., although nitrites are totally legal to own. Due to some recent incidents, it’s extremely difficult to get them.

2. 30% hydrogen peroxide. You can easily get 12% or 3% but not 30%.

3. 98% sulfuric acid. In the U.S. the closest thing we can get is drain cleaner which is around 90% concentration. You can obtain 98% concentration by heating it up until all the inhibitors are oxidized and decomposed and the mixture slowly reaches an azeotrope between sulfuric acid and water. But this procedure is extremely dangerous and I believe many amateur chemists would rather buy it with a reasonably price instead of doing it on their own.

4. Concentrated nitric acid. It’s a very useful reagent that is difficult to acquire all over the world.

5. Acetaldehyde. I almost couldn’t believe that you can easily buy formaldehyde (which is far more toxic) online but not acetaldehyde.

In addition, it doesn’t hurt to have a variety of metal salts with reasonable purity and price. For example, you can acquire cheap copper sulfate crystals for as low as $3 per lb (plus shipping) but they aren’t sufficiently pure and need recrystallization. But if you want to acquire reasonably pure ones, they usually cost over $30 per lb from a reputable seller. This is just an example - I’m sure many other reagents have a similar issue.

The laws and regulations will be different in UK so ensure to check the laws as well.

Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  
Hello,

First time posting so apologies if I get something wrong.

I have just completed a degree in chemistry and was thinking about starting a small-scale chemical supply business as a hobby. My question is what to sell!

I thought I would put this here with the question: what reagents do amateurs find difficult to obtain which might be viable to sell?

There are obviously the common ones like acids, nitrates etc but I was thinking about slightly more niche ones. Inorganic, organic, you name it! All ideas appreciated!

Thanks!

Sulaiman - 7-9-2025 at 07:19

Quote: Originally posted by moviez  
The laws and regulations will be different in UK so ensure to check the laws as well.
specifically: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplying-explosi...

BenJ - 7-9-2025 at 13:31

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
Quote: Originally posted by moviez  
The laws and regulations will be different in UK so ensure to check the laws as well.
specifically: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplying-explosi...


Thanks. I am painfully aware.

BenJ - 7-9-2025 at 16:47

Quote: Originally posted by moviez  
Hi. Welcome to the Forum!

I’m in the United States but I can offer my two cents. Whatever difficult to get in U.S., it would most likely be difficult to obtain somewhere else in the developed countries.

1. Nitrites (sodium, potassium, etc). It’s incredibly difficult to get pure nitrites here in the U.S., although nitrites are totally legal to own. Due to some recent incidents, it’s extremely difficult to get them.

2. 30% hydrogen peroxide. You can easily get 12% or 3% but not 30%.

3. 98% sulfuric acid. In the U.S. the closest thing we can get is drain cleaner which is around 90% concentration. You can obtain 98% concentration by heating it up until all the inhibitors are oxidized and decomposed and the mixture slowly reaches an azeotrope between sulfuric acid and water. But this procedure is extremely dangerous and I believe many amateur chemists would rather buy it with a reasonably price instead of doing it on their own.

4. Concentrated nitric acid. It’s a very useful reagent that is difficult to acquire all over the world.

5. Acetaldehyde. I almost couldn’t believe that you can easily buy formaldehyde (which is far more toxic) online but not acetaldehyde.

In addition, it doesn’t hurt to have a variety of metal salts with reasonable purity and price. For example, you can acquire cheap copper sulfate crystals for as low as $3 per lb (plus shipping) but they aren’t sufficiently pure and need recrystallization. But if you want to acquire reasonably pure ones, they usually cost over $30 per lb from a reputable seller. This is just an example - I’m sure many other reagents have a similar issue.

The laws and regulations will be different in UK so ensure to check the laws as well.

Quote: Originally posted by BenJ  
Hello,

First time posting so apologies if I get something wrong.

I have just completed a degree in chemistry and was thinking about starting a small-scale chemical supply business as a hobby. My question is what to sell!

I thought I would put this here with the question: what reagents do amateurs find difficult to obtain which might be viable to sell?

There are obviously the common ones like acids, nitrates etc but I was thinking about slightly more niche ones. Inorganic, organic, you name it! All ideas appreciated!

Thanks!


Hey, thanks!

It’s a similar story with h2o2 acids and nitrites here. Strangely acetaldehyde seems to be fairly available if you know where to look here.

That’s a good idea regarding salts. I’ll have a look to see if there any bulk sellers with a decent price here.

angrygiraffe - 8-9-2025 at 17:21

I don't think selling chemical reagents retail can really sustain your business. The quantities are usually small and the demand is pretty unstable.

teodor - 9-9-2025 at 05:26

Well, I buy chemicals every month. For quite immodest amount of money. There are more people here who do. I would prefer to buy some bulk quantities for good price and stock things because it is not demand, it is availability which is unstable. I understand that any single seller who sells me chemicals thinks that my demand is unstable but it is not so. The reason he can think that it is because the limited selection of chemicals (for a good price) in any single seller I know. So, having 4 basic requirements for the shop I wrote before + additional benefit of constant buyer (like having discount buying some amount per month) I don't see why this business could not be started as a hobby if there is possibility to sell chemicals.

P.S. I remember you question about aniline, BenJ. At least 1L. But till the end of the month I plan to compose a list of more organics, so then we probably will be able to talk about that.

P.P.S. I would say I am at least on 30-35% is occasion buyer. So, if you have something on a good price you can always inform me. This could be the case when somebody asks a small quantity of something, you need to buy some bulk quantity to have a good difference. In this case you can tell to you "occasion buyers" that some chemical could be available (in the original bottle) and there is a chance you can find somebody who will buy the rest. This is a way how you can start.

By the way, I need some bulk amount of silver nitrate. The local price is something around 150 EUR per 100g but I need few times more. So I have a plan to buy a silver and make it. This is the example - if you can propose something which will save my time and I will ready to invest in it.

[Edited on 9-9-2025 by teodor]

clearly_not_atara - 9-9-2025 at 06:57

I think it might be interesting to sell things which are more stable, higher priced replacements for cheap, hazardous reagents. In principle, you could buy the cheap reagent and upgrade it yourself in a step or two, then get a significant profit margin.

E.g. 1,1'-oxalyldiimidazole, the rxn product of oxalyl chloride and imidazole. Very effective carboxylic acid activation reagent with none of the volatility of oxalyl chloride.

Another possibility is Ms2O, which activates alcohols with no volatile hydrolysis byproduct (contrast TsCl or PBr3). MsOH is dehydrated by P2O5 or even, IIRC, Ac2O (by Le Chatelier removing AcOH).

TsNHNH2, KOtBu, Bu4NBr (not really a replacement), probably some others I'm not thinking of.

Keras - 9-9-2025 at 07:04

Quote: Originally posted by clearly_not_atara  

E.g. 1,1'-oxalyldiimidazole, the rxn product of oxalyl chloride and imidazole. Very effective carboxylic acid activation reagent with none of the volatility of oxalyl chloride.


Apparently cyanuric chloride (a solid) does the same and is widely available. I have some, just didn't have time to test this reaction.

chempyre235 - 9-9-2025 at 09:52

Quote: Originally posted by clearly_not_atara  
I think it might be interesting to sell things which are more stable, higher priced replacements for cheap, hazardous reagents. In principle, you could buy the cheap reagent and upgrade it yourself in a step or two, then get a significant profit margin.


I second this. I'd also add tetrakis(pyridine) silver(II) peroxydisulfate and PDC as oxidizing reagents which are relatively straightforward to make. NBS and related derivatives would also be useful.

elemental mercury

Sulaiman - 9-9-2025 at 22:13

i have no difficulty buying it but I have seen many members require it.
eg https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=16...

EDIT: This is a BAD idea because it may result in mercury being transported by air,
NOT A GOOD IDEA.

[Edited on 10-9-2025 by Sulaiman]

chempyre235 - 10-9-2025 at 05:33

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
i have no difficulty buying it but I have seen many members require it.
eg https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=16...

EDIT: This is a BAD idea because it may result in mercury being transported by air,
NOT A GOOD IDEA.

[Edited on 10-9-2025 by Sulaiman]

@Sulaiman: I'm not sure how it works in the UK, but in the US, you can have freight shipped by ground. You still can't ship mercury or its compounds through USPS, but other services will ship it.

@BenJ: You may peruse the "Reagents and Apparatus Acquisition" portion of the forum for ideas for what you should stock. Several reagents that appear often (mostly mineral acids) are likely to always be in demand. Various solvents, oxidizers (such as ones I mentioned previously), and reducing agents will always be crucial for any kind of chemist, and several of these are useful outside of chemistry, too.

BenJ - 10-9-2025 at 06:20

Quote: Originally posted by teodor  
Well, I buy chemicals every month. For quite immodest amount of money. There are more people here who do. I would prefer to buy some bulk quantities for good price and stock things because it is not demand, it is availability which is unstable. I understand that any single seller who sells me chemicals thinks that my demand is unstable but it is not so. The reason he can think that it is because the limited selection of chemicals (for a good price) in any single seller I know. So, having 4 basic requirements for the shop I wrote before + additional benefit of constant buyer (like having discount buying some amount per month) I don't see why this business could not be started as a hobby if there is possibility to sell chemicals.

P.S. I remember you question about aniline, BenJ. At least 1L. But till the end of the month I plan to compose a list of more organics, so then we probably will be able to talk about that.

P.P.S. I would say I am at least on 30-35% is occasion buyer. So, if you have something on a good price you can always inform me. This could be the case when somebody asks a small quantity of something, you need to buy some bulk quantity to have a good difference. In this case you can tell to you "occasion buyers" that some chemical could be available (in the original bottle) and there is a chance you can find somebody who will buy the rest. This is a way how you can start.

By the way, I need some bulk amount of silver nitrate. The local price is something around 150 EUR per 100g but I need few times more. So I have a plan to buy a silver and make it. This is the example - if you can propose something which will save my time and I will ready to invest in it.

[Edited on 9-9-2025 by teodor]



Sure thing. Let me know about the aniline/other organics.

If I come across a good bargain I’ll be sure to let you know!

BenJ - 10-9-2025 at 06:23

Quote: Originally posted by clearly_not_atara  
I think it might be interesting to sell things which are more stable, higher priced replacements for cheap, hazardous reagents. In principle, you could buy the cheap reagent and upgrade it yourself in a step or two, then get a significant profit margin.

E.g. 1,1'-oxalyldiimidazole, the rxn product of oxalyl chloride and imidazole. Very effective carboxylic acid activation reagent with none of the volatility of oxalyl chloride.

Another possibility is Ms2O, which activates alcohols with no volatile hydrolysis byproduct (contrast TsCl or PBr3). MsOH is dehydrated by P2O5 or even, IIRC, Ac2O (by Le Chatelier removing AcOH).

TsNHNH2, KOtBu, Bu4NBr (not really a replacement), probably some others I'm not thinking of.


That’s a very good idea, thanks. I have some MsOH so will look into selling Ms2O

BenJ - 10-9-2025 at 06:28

Quote: Originally posted by chempyre235  
Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
i have no difficulty buying it but I have seen many members require it.
eg https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=16...

EDIT: This is a BAD idea because it may result in mercury being transported by air,
NOT A GOOD IDEA.

[Edited on 10-9-2025 by Sulaiman]

@Sulaiman: I'm not sure how it works in the UK, but in the US, you can have freight shipped by ground. You still can't ship mercury or its compounds through USPS, but other services will ship it.

@BenJ: You may peruse the "Reagents and Apparatus Acquisition" portion of the forum for ideas for what you should stock. Several reagents that appear often (mostly mineral acids) are likely to always be in demand. Various solvents, oxidizers (such as ones I mentioned previously), and reducing agents will always be crucial for any kind of chemist, and several of these are useful outside of chemistry, too.


The mercury problem could be solved by ADR shipping, expensive though!

I will be sure to have a scroll through the section of the forum. I am starting to get a good idea of things that would be worthwhile to sell! Thank you all!

Sulaiman - 11-9-2025 at 00:12

Quote: Originally posted by teodor  
.By the way, I need some bulk amount of silver nitrate. ]
a silver maple coin is 99.99% silver,
dissolve in nitric acid, crystalise.
much cheaper than buying silver nitrate.

I used a 99.9% silver eagle,
it took two recrystallisations to remove the green tint,
but the product appears to be stable vs daylight.

woelen - 11-9-2025 at 06:52

150 euros per 100 gram of AgNO3 is quite a good price. Spot price of silver nowadays is well over EUR 1100 per kg. Bying 99.99% pure silver adds at least 10% to the spot price. If you add the cost of nitric acid for dissolving the silver (if you can get it anyway, if you are in the EU), and all the effort for making it pure and free of acid, then I think that 150 euros per 100 gram is not bad at all. If you need to make the nitric acid yourself from nitrate salts and another acid, then buying the AgNO3 for 150 euros per 100 gram becomes even more attractive.

[Edited on 11-9-25 by woelen]

teodor - 11-9-2025 at 09:08

Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
150 euros per 100 gram of AgNO3 is quite a good price. Spot price of silver nowadays is well over EUR 1100 per kg. Bying 99.99% pure silver adds at least 10% to the spot price. If you add the cost of nitric acid for dissolving the silver (if you can get it anyway, if you are in the EU), and all the effort for making it pure and free of acid, then I think that 150 euros per 100 gram is not bad at all. If you need to make the nitric acid yourself from nitrate salts and another acid, then buying the AgNO3 for 150 euros per 100 gram becomes even more attractive.

[Edited on 11-9-25 by woelen]


I will definitely think about your words. I plan to do some PH3 experiments. I mean I need a good scrubber for the reaction product. AgNO3 works very well according to the literature. I assume I will recycle silver in any case. And yes, nitric acid will come from nitrate. It is just planning, not actual experiments yet.