Chemical Properties
Light yellow crystalline
Uses
2,6-Dinitrophenol is an aromatic nitrophenol.
Definition
ChEBI: 2,6-dinitrophenol is a dinitrophenol.
General Description
Yellow crystalline solid with a sweet musty odor. Sinks and mixes slowly with water.
Air & Water Reactions
Mixes slowly with water.
Reactivity Profile
2,6-DINITROPHENOL can detonate or explode when heated under confinement [USCG, 1999]. Phenols do not behave as organic alcohols, as one might guess from the presence of a hydroxyl (-OH) group in their structure. Instead, they react as weak organic acids. Phenols and cresols are much weaker as acids than common carboxylic acids (phenol has Ka = 1.3 x 10^[-10]). These materials are incompatible with strong reducing substances such as hydrides, nitrides, alkali metals, and sulfides. Flammable gas (H2) is often generated, and the heat of the reaction may ignite the gas. Heat is also generated by the acid-base reaction between phenols and bases.
Health Hazard
INHALATION, INGESTION AND SKIN ABSORPTION: Headache, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, pain in chest, difficult breathing, profuse sweating and thirst, dizziness and fatigue. SKIN: Discoloration and irritation. Corrosive to skin.
Purification Methods
Crystallise it from H2O, aqueous EtOH, *C6H6/cyclohexane, or *C6H6/pet ether (b 60-80o, 1:1). [Beilstein 6 III 867, 6 IV 1383.]
