MethylBenzene (Toluene)

[YT2095]

I`ve been given nearly a gallon (5 litres) of Toluene today, I`ve also contributed Much to this site in the past, so I figure I`m about due to ask a few "lame" questions myself

 

does anyone know of any interesting things I can do with this stuff?

 

and no, before any K3wl says it, I did the TNT thing over 20 years ago and have no interest in that anymore, I was satisfied.

 

I`de like to try making the benzoic acid with acidulated KMnO4, ok I already Have this acid, but I`ve never made it this way before.

 

also Sulphonic acid synths to make detergents, I`de like to try that too.

and any Other ideas or synths for a relative Orgo Newb

seems a pity to use all of it over a lifetime as a simple de-greaser

 

suggestions...?

[RyanJ]

What can you do? 2,4,6-trinitromethylbenzene is fun ut you've done that...

 

Make some Phenol... If you can then you can make some Picric acid...

 

No idea at all... research leads this though:

 

Inhalation of toluene fumes can be intoxicating, but in larger doses nausea-inducing. Chronic or frequent inhalation of toluene over long time periods leads to irreversible brain damage.

 

So be careful

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[woelen]

Toluene can be used to make beautiful crystals of sulphur. You can also purify sulphur with it easily.

 

http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/exps/S+toluene/index.html

 

Try to scale up this experiment and see if you can make beautiful crystals of sulphur.

[RyanJ]

Toluene can be used to make beautiful crystals of sulphur. You can also purify sulphur with it easily.

 

http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/exps/S+toluene/index.html

 

Try to scale up this experiment and see if you can make beautiful crystals of sulphur.

 

 

 

WOW those are pretty... I wish Ihad some methylbenzene now, I only bought some Sulphur crystals not too ong ago - those are better then mine

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[YT2095]

Toluene can be used to make beautiful crystals of sulphur.

EwWwWwwww Nice! I`ve got to try that, fantastic idea!

 

as for Picric acid and associated metal picrates, I`ve done that too at about the same time as the TNT (and others), it`s just Boring now and would be a waste of good chemical(s).

I want to make thing`s I`ve never made before and watch how it happens and works.

 

edit: Woelen, after a good read, I wondered why you disposed of the toluene soln afterwards?

surely allowing it to go to Evaporation would have done a similar job as lowering the temp in a freezer?

just a thought

[raivo]

I have done benzoic acid by potassium peramaganate oxidation of toluene. If i recall correctly i refluxed solution of potassium permanganate for 4 hours with small quantity of toluene. After filtering and evaporating got white powder with almost no smell but dust was very irritating. It made me cough if prespired even in smallest quantities. I assumed that this is benzoic acid. I used it to make esters. It can also be used to make benzene by dry distillation.

 

Toluene can be chlorinated to make benzyl chloride which is quite remarkable intermediate in organic synthesis.

 

Edit: Just remembered some more details... After filtering and evaporating most of water i added some HCl. Benzoic acid precipitated. Precipitate was collected by filtration and dryed to get that white powder which i used to make esters.

[YT2095]

well having just moved into a new house and having most of my kit still in boxes, I can`t do any Chlorination just yet, but I`ll have a try later one.

I want to make such things as these in bulk so that I can use them later as further "Stepping-stones" for other synths.

I really would like to try this Sulphonic acid addition to make a working detergent also, I don`t exactly know How the proc is done yet, but it`ll nice to get some product from it that works

 

also, does anyone know what amount per litre of unleaded fuel, I need to add to make 4 star petrol?

this could save me £100`s alone! (nearly £6.00 for 125ml of the Octane additive!).

[aguy2]

I`ve been given nearly a gallon (5 litres) of Toluene today' date=' I`ve also contributed Much to this site in the past, so I figure I`m about due to ask a few "lame" questions myself

 

does anyone know of any interesting things I can do with this stuff?

[/quote']

 

Be careful with fumes. Toluene is psychotropic dynamite! Most halucinations have an 'unreal' quality to them, Toluene's tend to be indistinquishable from reality.

aguy2

[YT2095]

yeah right!, *sniff* and I`m supposed to beleive you *sniff* really Typed that

[woelen]

edit: Woelen' date=' after a good read, I wondered why you disposed of the toluene soln afterwards?

surely allowing it to go to Evaporation would have done a similar job as lowering the temp in a freezer?

just a thought [/quote']

Yes, you are right, but you should not allow to evaporate all of it. If you let all of it evaporate, then all soluble impurities of the sulphur also will be in your crystals again. So, when you use this for making pure sulphur, then you should not let all of it evaporate.

[RyanJ]

Be careful with fumes. Toluene is psychotropic dynamite! Most halucinations have an 'unreal' quality to them' date=' Toluene's tend to be indistinquishable from reality.

aguy2[/quote']

 

Yes it gives people an explosive personality alright... especially when its nitrated

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jons

[NeonBlack]

Hey, those are some great-looking CRYSTALS.

Shoot, maybe hwhelp will read this thread and abandon the nutmeg for toluene.

[jdurg]

Heh. I actually like the smell of toluene. It is a major component in plastic model cements, so whenever I smell it I get reminded of all the time in my youth I spent building model cars.

[YT2095]

it reminds me of marker pens, in fact I had to forcibly take the bottle back off my wife while there was still some left in the bottle!

 

Woelen, yeah, I thought about it afterwards, removing some of it would be best in case there are soluble materials in there.

[KFC]

Add Equal Part Nitric Acid And Methyl-Benzene And You Will Get Some :

 

[YT2095]

no it won`t!

 

edit: but just so as you don`t feel left out, you can still have a 15 point hazmat warning for your efforts and intention.

[KFC]

Doesn't It Make Trinitrotoluene?

 

But Then You A Have To Ignite It Then It Goes Boom.

[Darkblade48]

Doesn't It Make Trinitrotoluene?

Most likely not. I believe normal nitrating conditions (of course, you'll need another reagent, not just HNO3 to nitrate the ring) will only give you a maximum of two NO2 groups on the ring.

[YT2095]

Doesn't It Make Trinitrotoluene?

 

But Then You A Have To Ignite It Then It Goes Boom.

 

no, it doesn`t

and no it doesn`t.

[insane_alien]

Well at least we know KFC can't blow himself up with TNT.

[RyanJ]

Well at least we know KFC can't blow himself up with TNT.

 

No... thats a good point. [acr=2,4,6-trinitromethylbenzene]TNT[/acr] is actually quite simple to make and I have a problem with that photo because it looks like a nuclear blast too me If it is the you'll need a few kilotons of [acr=2,4,6-trinitromethylbenzene]TNT[/acr] minimum to make a blast like that anyway

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[insane_alien]

yeah i know. i've synthed tnt a few times in the lab. never any great quantities about 60 grams total.

[YT2095]

TNT synths (other than being Against what I originaly posted!) are 3 stage, agreed "Simple" but it also takes Time to do it properly, and it`s nowhere NEAR as dangerous as it`s being made out to be!

now then, can we get this Topic BACK on track again!

[YT2095]

Toluene can be used to make beautiful crystals of sulphur. You can also purify sulphur with it easily.

 

http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/exps/S+toluene/index.html

 

Try to scale up this experiment and see if you can make beautiful crystals of sulphur.

 

Interesting note, I`ve tried the above and noticed something Very Strange/unexpected!

 

I put in 30 grams of inpure sulpher powder into a 250ml erlinmyer flask and then topped the rest of the space up to the 200ml mark with toluene.

I put this in a high walled metal container over the heating element (I didn`t want anything to crack and leak and catch fire) I also did this in a shed with everything open so as not to be overcome with fumes, happily there were non of any significance, but it was handy to have the area to throw the lot out IF it caught fire.

Anyway, about 2 mins before boiling point was met, the volume in the flask increased to the 225/230 ml mark!?

 

I was quite astonished at this expansion, granted all liquids will expand a little upon heating, but this was quite marked!

did you notice anything similar in your trials?

 

and as for crystals, no, I`ve not managed huge ones yet, I`m still getting all the garbage out the garden sulpher, I`de say a good 80% of the crap has gone already just using this process, when I get a good purity of sulpher, Then I`ll try for a Huge one, I think I`ll cheat and keep the best of my smaller ones as a seed to get it started with

[woelen]

That is indeed impressive, such a large expansion. I did not notice this, because I used a test tube without marks on it.

 

Nice to read that you get rid of all kinds of impurities. If you do this well, then you can get rid of 100% of all insoluble impurities and surely 80% of soluble impurities. But, I'm quite sure that in the toluene solvent, most impurities will be insoluble. With a single recrysallization, where the hot liquid is decanted from insoluble crap and subsequent 24 hour outgassing of small sulpur crystals on a dust-free place, you'll get VERY pure sulphur.