Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Cheap and abundant starting materials

SeaDonkey - 20-6-2010 at 03:21

I've always had an obsession with collecting things and ever since I started studying chemsitry I've wanted to start collecting chemicals. I could just order them over the internet but that would take all the fun out of it. I'd rather start by creating chemicals from readily availalble compounds. The best organic precursor I can really think of that is dirt cheap and readily available is vinegar. From acetic acid I can make acetate salts and other organic compounds such as alcohols, ketones etc. Are there many other cheap and abundant compounds that can be found in the supermarket/hardware store?

not_important - 20-6-2010 at 03:37

There are a number of existing threads on this topic, try looking in them.