Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Preperation of isbutyl nitrite

lalalympo - 20-1-2017 at 10:56

I'm preparing for a synthesis of isobutyl nitrite, I've been gathering information on the chemical and its subcategory; alkyl nitrites.
There are still some things where I'm not sure of regarding the preparation and purification of the product.

First of all is the acid choice, HCl and H2SO4 are commonly used. I happen to have a 1L bottle of technical grade sulfuric acid lying around, but if there are disadvantages to using sulfuric acid I can order some concentrated hydrochloric acid.

Now in accordance with syntheses I found online, I will cool my acid and nitrite solution in the fridge and keep the reaction vessel in a salt-ice bath to limit NOx formation.

Onto purification and storage. For the purification I planned on doing a few washes with sodium bicarbonate solution, and dry the washed product with anhydrous magnesium sulfate to minimize water content. I want to get my product as clean as possible be able to store it, without decomposing, for as long as possible.

To make the isobutyl nitrate stabler I came across a few methods, namely: Adding glycerin (or glycerol) to reduce water content and absorb decomposition products, Dissolving the alkyl nitrite in its corresponding alcohol (isobutanol in my case) and adding a drop of concentrated sulfuric acid to keep the pH on the low side (as suggested by another sciencemadness user). I'm not sure whether the chemicals used in the washing and stabilization processes affect the isobutyl nitrite.

If anyone has experience on this subject and/or sees flaws, be sure to let me know. All help is appreciated. :)




RobRylan - 20-1-2017 at 11:48

What exactly are you going to do with it? Get high?

Maroboduus - 20-1-2017 at 13:20

Quote: Originally posted by RobRylan  
What exactly are you going to do with it? Get high?


This from a guy who wants to make thalidomide?

Nobody pestered you by asking, "what are you going to do with it, breed an alternate race to flipper-men?

NOTE: The other recent nitrite thread has advice by Melgar suggesting the use of sodium carbonate to neutralize the residual acids. And also storage over sodium carbonate for long term stability.



[Edited on 20-1-2017 by Maroboduus]

RobRylan - 20-1-2017 at 14:13

Quote: Originally posted by Maroboduus  
Quote: Originally posted by RobRylan  
What exactly are you going to do with it? Get high?


Nobody pestered you by asking, "what are you going to do with it, breed an alternate race to flipper-men?



You're right, I retract that comment.

lalalympo - 21-1-2017 at 10:36

Quote: Originally posted by Maroboduus  
Quote: Originally posted by RobRylan  
What exactly are you going to do with it? Get high?


This from a guy who wants to make thalidomide?

Nobody pestered you by asking, "what are you going to do with it, breed an alternate race to flipper-men?

NOTE: The other recent nitrite thread has advice by Melgar suggesting the use of sodium carbonate to neutralize the residual acids. And also storage over sodium carbonate for long term stability.



[Edited on 20-1-2017 by Maroboduus]


I hadn't seen that post before, thanks for letting me know.

thegratefuldead - 24-1-2017 at 17:12

This is the other post
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=71858

I would like to know how your stabilization process works!
Id been making Isopropyl, wich is more volatile, washed with Sodium bicarbonate...in this case only the freezer helps..
Now im looking for Butyl, im gonna try the glycerin...

Im using HCL, i have read that H2SO4 works well, but some people recommend HCL instead, i dont know why

XeonTheMGPony - 22-4-2017 at 11:24

HCl is easier to remove from the final product as it is a gas where as sulfuric acid is a viscous oil that likes to stick around!

oldish thread but looking into this stuff for my azide synth for the isopropyle form.

DrMethyl - 4-5-2017 at 08:38

Quote: Originally posted by thegratefuldead  


Im using HCL, i have read that H2SO4 works well, but some people recommend HCL instead, i dont know why


I recommend H2SO4 because you have no risk of breathing HCl if some is left in your final product. But if washing is done properly both are roughly the same...

By the way using H2SO4 is more exothermic so a better cooling bath is necessairy and slower addition of acid.

Did you plan to test the reaction soon ? Don't forget to post your result, I am very interested. You can also try nitrition of different alcohol and compare your results : yield and final comparison test of effect. You can try on isopropanol, n-butanol, s-butanol, isobutanol, isopentanol, pentanol, ...

reagrds,

Dr. Methyl

Praxichys - 4-5-2017 at 08:46

Just be careful if you start exploring nitrites of small alcohols. IIRC the dinitrite of ethylene glycol and the trinitrite of glycerol are explosive.

Amos - 4-5-2017 at 10:09

I recommend dissolving the alcohol in a minimal amount of water with good and persistent stirring before the reaction. This (and using a robust excess of the other reagents) should help to insure that your final product contains as little leftover alcohol as possible.

If your end goal is to inhale it, I wouldn't recommend it. Even just working near it in close proximity has given me a headache, and the inhalation part just makes that worse.