Good and bad chemical smells, list yours

[insane_alien]

i suspect that one is the smell of the container rather than the chemicals. last time i handled a large quantity of potassium nitrate(2kg) there wasn't a smell at all

[Horza2002]

Pyridine and most amines smell disgusting so they are definately out...

 

I quiet like the smell of ether and ethyl acetate....slightly worrying!

[John Cuthber]

Pyridine and most amines smell disgusting so they are definately out...

 

I quiet like the smell of ether and ethyl acetate....slightly worrying!

 

Stop sniffing the solvents; it has started to affect your spelling.

[Horza2002]

Lol thanks for the advice....but my spelling was this bad long before I got near solvents!

[Chembio]

I think bad chemicals should include benzoyl chloride at the top... And of course concentrated ammonia...

[UC]

I recently did a synthesis that involved heating benzaldehyde and pyrrole in refluxing propionic acid. Just...no. Very fortunately, the solvent was not butyric acid instead. I'll take my prize, now.

 

I rather like the smell of dimethyl maleate, though it has a pretty low vapor pressure so I didn't know it smelled good until I spilled a drop on a glove and walked around wondering what that nice smell was for half an hour.

[helloyo53]

This may seem a little odd, especially the good ones (well, some of them):

 

Good - Hydrogen sulfide, chlorine (LOVE the smell of chlorine), pure oxygen

Bad - Ammonia, NaCl

[John Cuthber]

Since oxygen doesn't smell...

[uranium238]

the smell of iodine and other hologens just makes me so angry> but ethers are nice:)

[Greippi]

TEMED (Tetramethylethylenediamine) is yucky.

[iStrangey]

NO WAY every thing on this list smells terrible compared to trichloromethane i would recommend smelling that.

[Altered State]

I particularly love ether smell.

 

The worst thing I ever smell was cadaverine. I do not think I would ever get close to that s**t once again. And I also believe that I will never smell anything that stinks more than this guy.

[chiwi]

the worst smell, that makes me real sick feeling, and nausea, is the new tar for roofs, the welcome mats made from tires, the apple brand cover for the ipad, the stuff they put on your hair at the beauty shop to keep the curls in, i think it is called petroleum distillate, or something from that? i am not a chemist (my husband was) It smells bad, and in addition to that, when i smell it, i start getting nausea, and headache, and weakness, etc. no, not my imagination, as my 93 year old dad, has the same reaction.

[Altered State]

Huh, I've just remembered...

Did you ever smell aqueous (typical lab concentration) ammonia? It is like extremelly strong pee, isn't it?

 

But, did you ever smell pure liquid anhydrous ammonia? Do not do it..