7,8-Benzoquinoline is combustible; burns to produce toxic fumes of nitrogen oxides.
7,8-Benzoquinoline is a dark yellow crystalline solid.
Benzo[h]quinoline was used to study the mutagenic activities of benzo[f]quinoline, benzo[h]quinolone and a number of their derivatives in strain TA 100 of Salmonella typhimurium. It was used in determination of nitrogen-containing polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the gaseous products of the thermal degradation of polymers by HPLC- fluorescence detection. It was used as starting reagent for the synthesis of osmium and ruthenium complexes containing an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand.
Mutation data reported. Whenheated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of NOx.
Purify it as for 3,4-benzoquinoline above. The picrate has m 196o(from Me2CO). [Beilstein 20 H 463, 20 III/IV 4003, 20/8 V 215.]