Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Best and worst smelling chemicals?

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Hexavalent - 3-9-2012 at 11:11

Most low-molecular weight amines smell quite bad....'fishy' seems to be a suitable adjective a lot of the time.

ScienceHideout - 3-9-2012 at 13:51

I have to say that my favorites list goes, from best to worst,
1. Methyl Benzoate- Don't know why
2. Alpha pinene, reminds me of christmas
3. Methyl trans-cinnamate... jeez, I have a lot of esters on my list
4. Fatty acid methyl esters- really appetizing for some reason
5. Methyl salicylate- wintergreen
6. Chloroform- I like its sweetness, yet etherie volitility
7. Carbon tet- Yes... sorta fruity.
8. Vanillin

Yeah- once I tried to convince my gf to wear a little bit of methyl benzoate- she thought I was nuts... It does smell good, though!

My worst- from worst to bad are

1. Chlorine- I HATE IT... makes me want to gag just thinking about it
2. Ammonia- quite bad
3. Methylamine- Typical amine odor!
4. Benzaldehyde- Yes... It smells like cough medicine...
5. Formaldehyde- just plain old bad
6. GAA- vinegar is okay, I just don't like the whole room to be flooded with it!
7. Bromine- You know the smell
8. HCl- self explanitory

IPN - 3-9-2012 at 22:12

Having worked a lot with triethylamine (sonogashiras in neat TEA) I dont know if I have just gotten used to it or what, but I kind of like the smell. :D

Worst smells I have come across are definitely thiophenol and benzoxazole. The latter is like a mix of pyridine and rubber, very nauseating.

Hexavalent - 3-9-2012 at 22:16

My least favourite class of compounds in this respect has to be either amines or thiols.

SM2 - 4-9-2012 at 05:43

This is a difficult question. Subjective, and I haven't smelled even 1% of chemicals out there. By far my favorite is a mixture of indoles and some other components, made by DuPont. They lightly oderize their country store with it, and it is subtle, yet amazing. Smelling directly from the jar, it smells foul, like a sweet skunk, but in the right dilution, something magical happened.

Worst? methylmercaptan. I give credence to some of the gases used, for instance, in the semi's industry, certain hydrides, etc, but their effect is primarily to make one instantly vomit, and secondarily, they smell god awful. But methylmercaptan smells like Tony Soprano eating an old philly sub from his fridge, and not even chewing. Later, the gasses emanating from his anus (due to anaerobic fermentation). My idea of how to describe the grim odour of methylmercaptan.

SM2 - 4-9-2012 at 05:48

Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout  

7. Bromine- You know the smell


Oh yes, bromine has distinct fecal notes to it, no doubt.

Mailinmypocket - 4-9-2012 at 12:05

Quote: Originally posted by Fennel Ass Ih Tone  
Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout  

7. Bromine- You know the smell


Oh yes, bromine has distinct fecal notes to it, no doubt.


I'd hate to be the poor person who's "fecal notes" smell of bromine....

haroldramis - 6-9-2012 at 10:02

Haha, I actually loled at that.

My first time making Bromine I was hit with a small whiff taking the receiving flask off and stoppering it. This was done outside. The only 'fecal note' that could have resulted would have been if I shat myself during the violent coughing, snotting, tearing fit that followed.

Rogeryermaw - 6-9-2012 at 11:47

obviously i have never smelled fluorine or astatine (seriously doubt anyone here ever has in any noticeable quantity) but all the other halogens have distinct yet related odors. at least i thought so. iodine, chlorine, and bromine all have a somewhat similar aroma to them. not scatological but if they became extremely potent, some people may crap themselves.....

Adas - 12-12-2012 at 04:14

Quote: Originally posted by Jor  
When are these sulfurated ketones formed? Good thing to know so I can avoid them at all cost. I really don't want to make such a thing by accident.

Yes by HCl/H2S/acetone, but any other reactions as well?

[Edited on 12-6-2009 by Jor]


You can use P4S10, or maybe even Al2S3 (but I really doubt it).

I am quite curious how thioacetone smells.

ScienceHideout - 14-12-2012 at 06:35

Pyradine is pretty bad- just had to throw that out there...

CS2 smells like farts.

sargent1015 - 14-12-2012 at 16:36

acrylates... Just... Ick! All of them just persistently fill a room in seconds.

Eddygp - 15-12-2012 at 04:26

Quote: Originally posted by IPN  
Having worked a lot with triethylamine (sonogashiras in neat TEA) I dont know if I have just gotten used to it or what, but I kind of like the smell. :D

Worst smells I have come across are definitely thiophenol and benzoxazole. The latter is like a mix of pyridine and rubber, very nauseating.


LOL when I read TEA I though it was triethylaluminium and I was completely paralysed!

Oscilllator - 15-12-2012 at 21:25

For some reason my solutions of potassium nitrate I make smell very nice, kind of sweet. I don't know if this is because of impurities, though.

As for bad smells, I got a nose full of ammonia and that was pretty bad, although it did clear my nose out quite well ;)

VitaminX - 17-12-2012 at 17:32

Best: Benzaldehyde smells wonderful, also EtOAc is my favorite solvent of all time

Worst: Pyridin is pretty bad, SOCl2, Trimethylamine, Triethylamine

sargent1015 - 17-12-2012 at 21:25

Quote: Originally posted by VitaminX  
Best: Benzaldehyde smells wonderful, also EtOAc is my favorite solvent of all time
Triethylamine



Ethyl acetate makes me surprisingly hungry for some reason. :D

DJF90 - 18-12-2012 at 00:28

I quite like the smell of NaBr and HBr; both smell kind of fruity to me. Absolutely fucking hate HCl (g or conc.) as it chokes me up and rusts the shit out of anything ferrous in the vicinity. Even my old aluminium hotplate top showed signs of corrosion (as does any Al foil nearby). I try to avoid it at ALL costs.

Adas - 18-12-2012 at 08:18

Quote: Originally posted by sargent1015  
Quote: Originally posted by VitaminX  
Best: Benzaldehyde smells wonderful, also EtOAc is my favorite solvent of all time
Triethylamine



Ethyl acetate makes me surprisingly hungry for some reason. :D


LOL, I get hungry when I smell cigarette smoke. :D

mr.crow - 18-12-2012 at 08:29

I made ethyl benzoate, that smells pretty nice. Distillation removed all the acrid notes and the pure product is just wonderful.

Impure KNO3 does have a sweet smell, weird. Salts shouldn't smell like anything.

Whatever is in nail polish is really nice. Tons of esters. Don't sniff it too much haha

12AX7 - 18-12-2012 at 21:56

There are volatile salts, of course; lead acetate smells of acetic acid due to decomposition to the basic acetate. Cupric chloride, when heated, doesn't really smell, but because it vaporizes fairly easily (in the 300C range IIRC), the fumes can become airborne, where they stick to the sinuses really badly. Not a pleasant salt when heated!

Tim

Eddygp - 21-12-2012 at 04:35

Ethyl acetate for the best.
Bromine for the worst one, although I have not smelled it.

Mailinmypocket - 21-12-2012 at 09:01

From my microbiology supplies:

Beef extract (smells just awful... looks awful... yuck)

Bacto-peptone (Has a smell reminiscent of cat piss)


CatPeeing.jpg - 87kB

Endimion17 - 21-12-2012 at 10:38

Quote: Originally posted by DJF90  
I quite like the smell of NaBr and HBr; both smell kind of fruity to me. Absolutely fucking hate HCl (g or conc.) as it chokes me up and rusts the shit out of anything ferrous in the vicinity. Even my old aluminium hotplate top showed signs of corrosion (as does any Al foil nearby). I try to avoid it at ALL costs.


But sodium bromide does not have a smell at all. It's not volatile, it's not being attacked by atmosphere not it decomposes by itself. It's a very stable salt. The only thing you might smell are the impurities, whatever they are, but pure salt... no.

Oscilllator - 22-12-2012 at 00:30

Quote: Originally posted by Endimion17  
Quote: Originally posted by DJF90  
I quite like the smell of NaBr and HBr; both smell kind of fruity to me. Absolutely fucking hate HCl (g or conc.) as it chokes me up and rusts the shit out of anything ferrous in the vicinity. Even my old aluminium hotplate top showed signs of corrosion (as does any Al foil nearby). I try to avoid it at ALL costs.


But sodium bromide does not have a smell at all. It's not volatile, it's not being attacked by atmosphere not it decomposes by itself. It's a very stable salt. The only thing you might smell are the impurities, whatever they are, but pure salt... no.


Maybe his NaBr/KBr have the same impurities as my potassium nitrate? Idk how that would happen though.

Random - 22-12-2012 at 12:33

Quote: Originally posted by Adas  
Quote: Originally posted by Jor  
When are these sulfurated ketones formed? Good thing to know so I can avoid them at all cost. I really don't want to make such a thing by accident.

Yes by HCl/H2S/acetone, but any other reactions as well?

[Edited on 12-6-2009 by Jor]


You can use P4S10, or maybe even Al2S3 (but I really doubt it).

I am quite curious how thioacetone smells.


i would like to see how thioacetone smells and would make in it small quanitity but that story about whole town evacuation doesnt sound appealing

sbbspartan - 22-12-2012 at 16:56

I just got some ethyl acetate from home depot as MEK substitute. I actually sort of like it's smell, its sort of fruity. I also like GAA quite a lot. I just love the smell of vinegar, even when it's pretty concentrated. Methyl salicylate isn't bad either. I really hate HCl and ammonia though, as well as nitrogen dioxide. I can't stand it, no matter how concentrated.

DraconicAcid - 4-2-2013 at 13:54

I haven't had an opportunity to smell anything terribly vile in the past few years. But I vaguely recall being horrified by the smells of trimethylphosphine, phenyl isothiocyanate, carbon disulphide, and pyridine. The worst, however, was an osmium compound that a coworker made as the starting material for his research project. There's a reason it's named "osmium". It didn't help that Clumsy Clark would get it on every bit of equipment that he would use in the preparation (the glassware, the clamps, the hoses, the hot plate, the pen he wrote his observations down on, the doorknob he'd use to exit the lab without bothering to take off his gloves...), so any time you'd pick up anything in the lab for the next week, your hands would reek of this stuff. I disliked this person more than the guy who tried weighing out phenyl isothiocyanate in the middle of the room (and stared blankly at me when I told him to get it into the fume hood NOW!).

I can't think of a best smell. Vanillin is nice, but once you've supervised three weeks of organic labs that involve the material (first week, separation from a mixture, second week, reduction to vanillic acid, third week...I forget what), you lose your appreciation for it.

DraconicAcid - 5-2-2013 at 09:47

Hot benzoic acid is nasty. I had a student who (when recrystallizing it from hot water) took a sniff, and said, "EWW!!! This smells like crack!"

Her lab partner looked blankly at her, and replied, "I thought crack smelled *good*. Doesn't it have poppies in it?"

Random - 5-2-2013 at 13:34

Quote: Originally posted by DraconicAcid  
Hot benzoic acid is nasty. I had a student who (when recrystallizing it from hot water) took a sniff, and said, "EWW!!! This smells like crack!"

Her lab partner looked blankly at her, and replied, "I thought crack smelled *good*. Doesn't it have poppies in it?"


I remember heating benzoic acid in a test tube with calcium acetate. It was quite nasty experience.

mr.crow - 6-2-2013 at 10:33

Really? Well cocaine does have a benzoyl ester so its quite possible.

My ethyl benzoate smelled much better after removing the unreacted benzoic acid, but I didn't notice anything too bad

Also note cocaine can hydrolyze into methyl benzoate, which drug sniffing dogs are trained to detect (wikipedia). I better not touch any of my science stuff before going to an airport, the ethyl benzoate bottle still smells slightly minty on the outside!

KonkreteRocketry - 20-2-2013 at 06:05

NO2 worst

Mailinmypocket - 20-2-2013 at 06:35

Not really a chemical per se... But the thick syrupy beef extract for microbiology smells horrid

zenosx - 20-2-2013 at 19:22

From my home lab experience glacial acetic acid will knock you down. Vanillin as some have mentioned is great. Benzyl Chloride will make your eyes water something awful as well.

While I know it is bad for me, I have always enjoyed the smell of chloroform, diethyl ether, and other organic solvents. No, I do not inhale them, but their smells aren't disagreeable.

bhattshivamm - 26-2-2013 at 08:13

i like the smell of diethyl ether. (but it's a slow working anaesthetic. be careful) and also toluene.
The worst smells i have experienced are probably bromine, ammonia and sulfur dioxide. Also, BENZYL BROMIDE is one of the most evil compounds that i have experienced. It caused really painful coughing, chest pain and sneezing. i had to leave room. it brought continuous tears from my eyes. tears didn't stop even after i left the place and washed my eyes with a plenty of water. i felt problems in breathing continuously for 1-2 days. :o

Morgan - 26-2-2013 at 10:06

I have a date palm tree that is flowering now and the scent is kind of like vanillin. Each inflorescence is about 60 cm long and will make a shower of white pollen if you shake it. I wonder if you could discover some new use for the pollen?

Tidbits
"The perfect palm perfume, he argued, ought to smell of its pollen."
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/scent-of-a-date-palm...

"The sale of these male flowers is quite a ritual in the market. It usually entails much questioning and discussion, and the spathe is examined minutely. Often a strip of the covering has been peeled back to expose the spikelets. The spathe is then bound with a piece of date palm frond to prevent it opening further, as it would otherwise quickly deploy into a open brush of spikelets."
http://enhg.4t.com/articles/spathe/spathe.htm

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/and.12025/abstrac...

togipaw - 27-4-2013 at 16:03

pyridine.... yuck!

Tdep - 27-4-2013 at 18:30

Am I the only one who enjoys the smell of iodine?

Finnnicus - 28-4-2013 at 16:05

What causes the scents and tastes of cacoa? Its rather bitter, but has some scented chemicals? Any ideas?
With a google I found flavoids....hrrrmmmm

Finnnicus - 29-4-2013 at 02:09

Oh and yes, tdep, Iodine can smell rather nice... In very low concentration.

weiming1998 - 29-4-2013 at 08:08

Chlorinated xylenes smell really bad, like a combination of chlorine and a sharp, vomit-inducing smell that I can't describe. The smell lingers for days on any surfaces that it touched. After chlorinating a little less than 10 ml of xylene, my fingers had that smell for 2 days. Not even a long wash with soap gets rid of the smell.

Small amounts of SO2, from burning sulfur, smell very nice though, like matches. If I inhaled a bit too much, after the initial irritation the pleasant smell would stay in my nose for about half an hour. Oddly, SO2 generated by other means, such as treating sodium thiosulfate with an acid, did not have that nice smell, instead just stinging the nose (like HCl vapours).

chemcam - 29-4-2013 at 08:19

I love the smell of chlorine in low concentrations, acetone, diethyl ether, chloroform, toluene, vanillin, and most alkyl nitrites. I don't mind getting a small whiff of hydrogen sulfide or ethyl mercaptan they just smell so bad I laugh a little. :D

I absolutely hate iodine in any concentration, chlorine in high concentration, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, methyl ethyl ketone, methanol, ethanol, and acetic acid, commercial acetylene. :mad:

Oscilllator - 11-5-2013 at 01:08

The other day I had the rater dubious pleasure of smelling a jar of butanoic acid. I can only describe it as being "essence of vomit"

mayko - 11-5-2013 at 12:17

Naphthalene, ethyl acetate, iodine. Love 'em. I just got a bunch of mothballs and my lab now smells faintly of them; it brings back heavy memories of the laboratory I had in the garage as a teenager. The other two remind me of the stockroom at the university where my dad worked.

My day job puts me in occasional contact with boutique amines *barfs everywhere* I wouldn't ordinarily like the smell of paraformaldehyde, p-dichlorobenzene, and phenol, the mix we use for odor control, but they're much better than cadaverine and putrescine.

APO - 23-5-2013 at 02:45

I LOVE VANILLA!

Mailinmypocket - 2-8-2013 at 08:14

The smell of potassium o-ethyldithiocarbonate is positively horrific, to me anyways. I'm trying to scrape it out of the reaction flask to wash and dry and it is ridiculously disgusting. It's like being surrounded by Taco Bell fart or something, gag-inducing :( hopefully it won't smell as terrible once washed and dried?

TheChemiKid - 15-8-2013 at 08:28

Quote: Originally posted by markgollum  
I like the smell of the di- and mono- nitro toluenes:D(smell a bit like almonds, sort of).


HCN also smells like almonds :D

TheChemiKid - 15-8-2013 at 08:33

Quote: Originally posted by Cyrus  
I love the smell of HCl, it is very invigorating ;)


Eew, i took one sniff of HCl, and I gagged. It was a reflex.

bfesser - 15-8-2013 at 08:46

I rarely have complaint with chemical smells, but I've found that 1,4-dichlorobenzene is particularly disagreeable. It's sickeningly sweet. High concentrations are unbearable.

TheChemiKid - 18-8-2013 at 07:50

I just made some Bromoform today. I love the smell. I don't take big sniffs. I smell from about 3 feet away. There is barely any smell, but what I do smell, I like.
PS. I have not felt any weird effects.

Finnnicus - 18-8-2013 at 08:19

Cancer takes a while to set in. :P
Be safe.

DJF90 - 18-8-2013 at 13:13

Benzyl mercaptan. Absolutely aweful. Doing a Parikh Doering oxidation on 1.4 kg material was interesting too. Close to 300g Me2S generated as byproduct...

Plutonium239 - 2-9-2013 at 19:29

Of the chemicals I've used in my "lab," the best-smelling one is probably acetic acid (I just like the smell) and the worst is the odor produced when you dump a mixture of acetic acid and sodium hypochlorite down the sink. I still haven't figured out what is being produced, exactly. When I write the formula, hypochlorous acid seems logical, but I have read in many places that chlorine gas is produced. I guess that would account for the burning feeling I get when breathing it.

Nitro-esteban - 3-9-2013 at 18:28

methyl salicylate smells magnificently good, I wonder what it tastes like.

Metacelsus - 3-9-2013 at 18:46

Don't taste more than a little bit; it's poisonous.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_salicylate#Safety_and_t...

subsecret - 3-9-2013 at 18:58

Best: Acetone

Worst: Hydrogen Chloride (especially when dissolved with iron (II) or (III) chloride. Ammonia is also pretty bad.

Forgive my simple answers, I'm only a beginning chemist.


DraconicAcid - 4-9-2013 at 08:04

Quote: Originally posted by Nitro-esteban  
methyl salicylate smells magnificently good, I wonder what it tastes like.


Don't taste the pure material; buy some wintergreen candies.

UnintentionalChaos - 22-10-2013 at 12:43

What in the unholy hell is the smell that comes off of sodium hydrosulfite in solution. It's abominable and more vile than hydrogen sulfide alone.

woelen - 22-10-2013 at 23:10

Sodium hydrosulfite? Do you mean sodium dithionite, Na2S2O4, or sodium bisulfite, NaHSO3? The latter only smells of SO2, which is pungent, but not really bad. The former indeed has a very bad smell. In solution it decomposes and gives all kinds of sulphurous compounds, which are formed from a mix of H2S and SO2 (polythionic acids, polysulfides), many of them are formed in your nose when SO2 and H2S dissolve at the same time and they are perceived as having a truly foul smell.

See also "Wackenrodersche Flüssigkeit". More (brief) info in English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Wilhelm_Ferdinand_Wack...

UnintentionalChaos - 22-10-2013 at 23:23

Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
Sodium hydrosulfite? Do you mean sodium dithionite, Na2S2O4, or sodium bisulfite, NaHSO3?


Dithionite. I also hate SO2, but because it's choking and makes me sneeze uncontrollably when inhaled in any significant concentration.

Mailinmypocket - 9-11-2013 at 09:49

Not the best or worst smelling, but I finished a synthesis of salicylamide and I've got to say... What a peculiar smell... Semi gross, semi familiar...

blargish - 11-11-2013 at 11:41

I enjoy the smell of acetone and methanol, nice and sweet.

My worst would probably have to be NO2, that stuff just smells like you are about to die.

Ammonia can also be pretty bad, I cannot even discern a description for the smell of ammonia. It basically feels like being punched in the face with odour.

Trichloroisocyanuric acid, TCCA, is one of the bad ones for me too; Really strong chlorine stench, even worse than actual chlorine.

Metacelsus - 11-11-2013 at 13:32

Quote: Originally posted by Mailinmypocket  
The smell of potassium o-ethyldithiocarbonate is positively horrific, to me anyways. I'm trying to scrape it out of the reaction flask to wash and dry and it is ridiculously disgusting. It's like being surrounded by Taco Bell fart or something, gag-inducing :( hopefully it won't smell as terrible once washed and dried?


I can personally attest that the analogous isopropyl compound has a nasty smell as well, at least at first. It diminishes with time.

The worst smell for me is carbonyl sulfide.

TheChemiKid - 11-11-2013 at 17:42

Quote: Originally posted by Saerynide  

Ethyl acetate smells nice :D Are we the only two who likes it?


I love ethyl acetate as well, isopropyl acetate is weird but pleasing as well.

TheChemiKid - 12-11-2013 at 04:46

Quote: Originally posted by Oscilllator  

For some reason my solutions of potassium nitrate I make smell very nice, kind of sweet. I don't know if this is because of impurities, though.


Hmm, I think this is because of impurities. I have some ACS grade potassium nitrate and it has no smell to me.

thebean - 12-11-2013 at 08:21

I have never found many compounds I enjoy because I find most smells overwhelming (the smell of apples and oranges make me want to vomit) but vanilin, chloroform :P (only a small whiff) and carbon dioxide smell absolutely wonderful. I don't get why people say acetone smells so good, it makes me feel sick.

Pyro - 12-11-2013 at 08:30

CO2, smell? :-?

I find nitrobenzene both nice and repulsive...

thebean - 12-11-2013 at 11:25

Quote: Originally posted by Plutonium239  
Of the chemicals I've used in my "lab," the best-smelling one is probably acetic acid (I just like the smell) and the worst is the odor produced when you dump a mixture of acetic acid and sodium hypochlorite down the sink. I still haven't figured out what is being produced, exactly. When I write the formula, hypochlorous acid seems logical, but I have read in many places that chlorine gas is produced. I guess that would account for the burning feeling I get when breathing it.


From the research I've done, it looks like you're inhaling carbon monoxide. I could be wrong though. Don't do this.

thebean - 12-11-2013 at 11:27

Quote: Originally posted by Pyro  
CO2, smell? :-?

I find nitrobenzene both nice and repulsive...


It has a faint smell. Open up a can of tonic water and smell. I think it might be the sensation more than the aroma though.

DJF90 - 13-11-2013 at 13:05

Try sticking your head in a chest of dry ice. I know the smell/sensation. Like accidentally getting coke (the beverage) up your nose...

Random - 13-11-2013 at 13:14

To the above posts.

I wonder if impurity among nitrates is N2O since I also noticed the sweet smell of ammonium nitrate fertilizer.

Hypochlorite and acetic acid shouldn't be forming carbon monoxide if I remember correctly.

Inhaling something as cold as dry ice can't be healthy for the lungs either.

DJF90 - 13-11-2013 at 15:01

I didn't mean the dry ice itself, but the very rich CO2 atmosphere in the chest. Just be careful not to asphyxiate.

blargish - 13-11-2013 at 17:18

Is it just me or does Oxygen gas smell "fresh"? It's the only way I can describe it and I love it! :)

TheChemiKid - 23-11-2013 at 17:55

My favorites: Vanillin, Chloroform, Bromoform, Lycopene
Worst: Hydrochloric Acid fumes, Sulfur Trioxide

Galinstan - 24-11-2013 at 04:21

In my opinion the worst smelling compounds are triethyl amine , chloride and bromine just because of their strength but worst for smell of all the halogens is F2 although ive only smelt it in small concentrations it really does have an unpleasant smell.

bismuthate - 24-11-2013 at 07:06

Iodoacetone=horrible
Call me weird but I love the smell of bromine.
I also like the smell of aluminum and copper sulfate.

Crowfjord - 24-11-2013 at 16:21

Triphenylphosphine is pretty darn terrible. It's like getting punched in the nose by a fist full of bad garlic and something burned...

I really like the smells of fatty esters, terpenes, benzaldehyde and nitrobenzene.

BlackDragon2712 - 24-11-2013 at 17:24

I hate carbon disulfide, it makes nitrogen dioxide smell like roses, also I've always hated the smell of ammonia, it's something I just can't stand.

Ethyl sulfide is also something I hate. organic acids like acetic acid. formaldehyde. gosh and bromine!!!!! damn I hate bromine!! xd!


I like the smell of phenol so much, also fructone has a sweet smell, like fruit, ethyl acetate has a lovely smell as well.

Forgot to mention hydrazine, though i've never work with it in a pure form, I've been able to smell traces of it and has a very similar smell with ammonia. it's expected I think

[Edited on 06/11/2013 by BlackDragon2712]

BlackDragon2712 - 24-11-2013 at 17:33

Quote: Originally posted by TheChemiKid  
Quote: Originally posted by Saerynide  

Ethyl acetate smells nice :D Are we the only two who likes it?


I love ethyl acetate as well, isopropyl acetate is weird but pleasing as well.


So now we are four who loves ethyl acetate! It has its own fan club haha!!

DraconicAcid - 24-11-2013 at 17:34

Quote: Originally posted by Crowfjord  
Triphenylphosphine is pretty darn terrible. It's like getting punched in the nose by a fist full of bad garlic and something burned...

I really like the smells of fatty esters, terpenes, benzaldehyde and nitrobenzene.

Triphenylphosphine's not so bad, since it's volatility is so low. Compare it to trimethylphosphine or triethylphosphine.

BlackDragon2712 - 25-11-2013 at 20:15

Quote: Originally posted by Amos Backstrom  
Quote: Originally posted by BlackDragon2712  
I hate carbon disulfide, it makes nitrogen dioxide smell like roses,

[Edited on 06/11/2013 by BlackDragon2712]


Ya! carbon disulfide is bad, I forgot about that, I would not go so far as to say '' it makes nitrogen dioxide smell like roses'' but it is worse.


Really?!?!? well, maybe it's because I really hate that stuff hahaha! well, I overreacted a little...

Fantasma4500 - 6-2-2014 at 01:39

iodoacetone doesnt really have a smell?? its abit like formaldehyde.. pretty much because it doesnt have any real smell but just hurts

chloroform i just witnessed, i can only describe it as your nose turns into a tongue and the chloroform is like liquid sugar stoppering your nose
11/10 will smell it again
NH3 i think smells great in weaker concentrations
if any should top the scents on the good it would be freshly burnt AP and especially freshly detonated HE's
perhaps even just simple visco fuse burnt at night with fresh rain and +25*C, its just an experience, followed by the deep thump of 30g ammonal underwater, offtopic but damn.. ill never forget it

testimento - 6-2-2014 at 04:33

I was surprised by the smell of TCCA when I dissolved some of it into hot water to remove impurities. It fizzled and the smell was very penetrating and sharp, and it was as my knowledge related to isocyanide/cyanates. I could sort of "remember" the smell few days after that.

But I like the smell of many solvents, some of them very much. Even then I use filter mask because most of those are quite harmful.

thebean - 6-2-2014 at 10:34

I like the smell of bromine and iodine at very low concentrations. Benzene is nice-ish but I don't like smelling it because it's a carcinogen. I once was using some epoxy like substance (It was to syringes that had liquids in them that polymerize in contact with one another), and I decided to look at the ingredients. Mercaptan. I knew it smelled bad so I got a wiff of the stuff which was a terrible choice. I hate thiols.

Zyklon-A - 6-2-2014 at 11:11

Right I love the smell of iodine, I absolutely hate chlorine, and I've never really smelled bromine. (Because I don't have a distillation setup to make it).

woelen - 6-2-2014 at 23:59

Triphenylphosphine only has a weak smell. I have some of this chemical and it is a weakly smelling white solid.

CS2 also is nearly odorless. I have very pure CS2 and it hardly smells. However, after some time, the smell becomes worse. It is not CS2 which gives the bad smell, but contaminants. Humid air slowly reacts with CS2 and then you get very smelly contaminants (volatile organic sulphur compounds).

Zyklon-A - 7-2-2014 at 06:25

Really? I always thought that CS2 had a very bad smell, even when pure.

JAVA - 7-2-2014 at 10:15

Valeric acid = terrible bad
Cinnamaldehyde = really nice smell for many weeks, nice synthesis too;)

Brain&Force - 7-2-2014 at 10:28

Ammonia smells great, it clears up my sinuses. Iodine also has a pleasant smell in low concentration - kinda like a swimming pool.
Wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate) seems to be the favorite of many.
I like pure acetic acid but hate vinegar.
And gasoline is wonderful.

thesmug - 7-2-2014 at 21:10

Best: Acetone, Chlorine, Kerosene
Worst: Iron(II)Chloride

So many of you seem to hate sulfur compounds but I personally think sulfur smells very good! It might have something to do with it being my favorite element :D.

[Edited on 2/8/14 by thesmug]

[Edited on 2/8/14 by thesmug]

Mailinmypocket - 18-2-2014 at 12:28

Recently made some trimethylsulfonium bromide. The stink of dimethyl sulfide is terrible. The smell is so bad I worried about the neighbors asking if I had severe gastric distress. Everything that was touched during the synthesis smells or cabbage and sulfur. I don't mind it that much myself, knowing what it is, but everyone else? Wow.

Brain&Force - 18-2-2014 at 12:49

I have no clue what causes ferrous sulfate to smell, but it's WONDERFUL...

Zyklon-A - 18-2-2014 at 13:10

@Brain&Force, Hmmm, you sure? http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=5679:cool:

Mailinmypocket - 26-2-2014 at 08:40

Bought a liter of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide today at a health food store. I never bothered to, but decided to, smell it. Had anyone else noticed the peculiar smell of strong peroxide? It's almost like ozone but isn't, it's almost nice but is kind of not... Weird.

ZIGZIGLAR - 26-2-2014 at 18:35

I once drank kerosene by accident, now I hate the smell passionately. I'm kind of acclimatised to skatole, thanks to my lovely children producing it in abundance for me to remove from their under-pants.

I am rather fond of absolute ethanol, but a lot of distillations I've done using it as the main solvent have kind of ruined my fondness a little due to the memory of its mixing with other less pleasant odors.

I guess vanillin is probably just the best, but I'm weird like some of the other guys here who like the smell of some toxic mixtures like gasoline. I can handle the smell of methylated spirits that have pyradine in them, but keep the kerosene away ><

blargish - 27-2-2014 at 09:01

Quote: Originally posted by Mailinmypocket  
Bought a liter of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide today at a health food store. I never bothered to, but decided to, smell it. Had anyone else noticed the peculiar smell of strong peroxide? It's almost like ozone but isn't, it's almost nice but is kind of not... Weird.


I know exactly what you mean. My 35% peroxide has a smell as well. I don't know how to describe it other than it's weird... It smells slightly sharp, but at the same time it's not.

Also, for me, oxygen seems to have a "fresh" smell to it

Hawkguy - 17-5-2015 at 18:51

Amazing smell today, AMAZING. I think it might be a mix of odours. After the thunderstorm in a tube demo, I caught repeated whiffs of a really sweet, Ethyl like, lightly fruity solvent(s). This might have been a) Benzene (The Ethanol I used in the experiment was from the 60s or 70s and had added Benzene) b) Ethanol (Only a bit, it was definitely not ONLY the alcohol) c) Ethyl Acetate (Oxidized Ethanol over the last 50 years could have reacted in the test tube, catalyzed by the Sulfuric Acid to produce Ethyl Acetate) d) Diethyl Ether (I have never smelt the pure stuff, but if used by abusers, it can't be so bad. It would have been produced by short bursts of high temperature with mixed Ethanol and Sulfuric Acid in test tube) e) Contaminated Permanganate (The seller cut mine with something that smells fruity, I think). I don't know what combination of those components, or which one it was, but it was UNBELIEVABLE, like I would spray myself before getting on the bus so I could maybe get some chicas....

blargish - 18-5-2015 at 14:06

My guess would be acetaldehyde from the oxidation of the ethanol. I have gotten whiffs of it a few times before and it is a really nice fruity smell :)

nezza - 19-5-2015 at 00:19

Can't go along with that. Acetaldehyde smells harsh, a bit like formalin, but not as bad. Most esters are quite pleasant and methyl salicylate is the classic "Oil of wintergreen" smell, but somewhat toxic and it looks really nice in a vial because of its high surface tension and refractive index. My favourite as I have said before is diethyl ether.

fluorescence - 19-5-2015 at 06:32

Worst smells ....

- Cyclohexene !!!

- Cacodyl

- Pyridine

- Piperidine


Best smells ...

well you could start off with all Esters and Stuff like that. Stuff that I have worked with or am working on that would involve a nice smell:

Camphora

Benzene / Toluene / Xylene



Also not really a good idea to smell too often but not all of my coordination compounds are stable and there is always a very
small amount of HCN gas. So while changing stuff outside the fume hood
I sometimes smell a bit of the HCN ... not good, not bad but a very
unique smell that does not remind me of anything that has to do with
Christmas, no almonds or any other comparison but so characteristic
that I'd identify it anywhere.

xfusion44 - 24-5-2015 at 10:23

Don't know what chemical in it, but lithium battery has a nice smell at low concentrations, when you take it apart. It's similar to diethyl ether's.
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