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Latest chemical order?

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XeonTheMGPony - 7-1-2019 at 04:45

Quote: Originally posted by NotThatKindofDoc  
Last chemicals ordered or bought:

Mineral oil
Magnesium shavings
Borneol
Menthol

Very hard to guess what i'll be attempting when I find some spare time


Jee what ever could you be making! lol. Where did you get the turnings from?

Been looking my self.

NotThatKindofDoc - 7-1-2019 at 04:52

The secondary alcohols and magnesium all from e-bay. I have been searching around a bit for rules, as I don't live in the most chemistry friendly part of the world, but I couldn't find any reasons why any of those things shouldn't ship here.

Herr Haber - 7-1-2019 at 05:58

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
The Ce was a birthday present. It will look great in the element collection. I was not going to divide it. 1kg is actually quite a small nugget.


How many sparklers would you have to burn at a birthday to make the equivalent of 1 kg of Ce ? :)

fusso - 7-1-2019 at 06:33

This thread looks like it should be pinned.

Abromination - 8-1-2019 at 18:33

Quote: Originally posted by fusso  
This thread looks like it should be pinned.

Agreed, you should U2U a mod about that

Anyways,
250mL Iodine tincture
100g Magnesium powder
And some glassware, specifically some nice vials for my element collection.

j_sum1 - 8-1-2019 at 19:52

Quote: Originally posted by fusso  
This thread looks like it should be pinned.

Given that pinned threqads are getting spam-hit at the moment, I might hold back on that for a while.

XeonTheMGPony - 9-1-2019 at 07:07

Just ordered 10grams Vanadium pentoxide

and just added 50grams Iodine to that

Not a chemical but a large purchase, I'm broke and going to suffer for it for a week but screw it good deal!

http://www.dlabsci.com/english/cplb/HotPlate/Magnetic/2018/0...

152 cad!

[Edited on 9-1-2019 by XeonTheMGPony]

[Edited on 10-1-2019 by XeonTheMGPony]

woelen - 14-1-2019 at 02:11

100g K2TeO4.5H2O
50g Co(ClO4)2.xH2O
100g WO3 (4N purity)
100g MoO3 (3N purity)
100g Ca(IO3)2

Somewhat more exotic chemicals, especially the first one. I now have tellurites and tellurates, allowing me to investigate the differences between these.

TheOtherKindOfDoc - 15-1-2019 at 23:33

Password recovery really doesn't work on here.. I wrote earlier as Notthatkindofdoc.

As pointed out in a thread in organic chemistry, the "borneol" supplied from the indian eBay seller is Camphor. So don't buy from them unless you want camphor :)

Reduction of camphor seems to be a bit of an experimental route (apparently MVP reduction with aluminium isopropoxide is possible, but hard to find a description of the process) or require some harder to find chemicals. So for me at least it is better to make another attempt at obtaining the borneol from a supplier.

So.. I have tried alibaba for the first time. It seems to be a reputable seller, and i have a package on the way with tracking number and everything. The remaining issues are confirming the actual contents, clearing customs, and the fact that it was by no means cheap. The minimum order size was 1kg, which should be sufficient for a few lifetimes worth as a catalyst. I'll let you know if it meets expectations

PyroPlatinum - 17-1-2019 at 20:22

Nothing too fancy... just 50 grams of Californium and 1 Kilogram of Antimatter.

j_sum1 - 17-1-2019 at 20:31

Quote: Originally posted by PyroPlatinum  
1 Kilogram of Antimatter.


I hope you didn't pay for shipping. They should pay you to send that stuff.

XeonTheMGPony - 23-1-2019 at 16:18

My Iodine arrived! and tested it by sublimation and dissolving in ethanol, both passed and where clean!


https://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-oz-High-Purity-99-8-Pure-Elemental...

and the hot plate in action! Brand new for 150 dollars!

[Edited on 24-1-2019 by XeonTheMGPony]

20190122_181438.jpg - 441kB

TheOtherKindOfDoc - 29-1-2019 at 12:51

So today I got a 1kg bag in the mail from China, which is supposed to be borneol. It was not cheap, but my first experience buying from alibaba was not bad if I got the actual product i ordered. It does look different from the indian e-bay stuff marketed as borneol, but containing camphor. The smell is similar, but not identical, it is more fruity in character?

It would be nice to test it and see what I have, but I lack very sophisticated means of doing so. The biggest difference I could find which is somewhat easily measured is the melting and boiling points. Borneol is supposed to melt at 208 and boil at 213C, while for camphor it is supposed to be 175-177 and 209C respectively.

When I heat these up they both fume quite a lot, seemingly sublimating and recrystallizing on the colder part of the container. With simultaneous heating the assumed camphor never really properly melts, but softens up, and changes to whiteish blobs. This was delivered as largeish flakes, with small glinting specks as a prominent visual feature. The borneol is smaller crystals, with much larger single crystals, and a clearer crystalline structure.

The assumed borneol does melt, and seems to go almost straight to boiling. Upon inserting my crappy thermometer in the boiling mixture, it reads 219C, which is 6 degrees above the boiling point of borneol and 10 degrees above the boiling point of camphor. White crystals form rather aggressively on my thermometer, which might possibly increase the heat transfer? The measured temperature might just simply be a result of a bad thermometer.

First pic camphor, second pic borneol third pic borneol sublimated onto thermometer.

So what do you guys think? Is it legit? Are there any proper tests I could do?

Tue Jan 29 21-26-25.jpg - 65kB Tue Jan 29 21-25-35.jpg - 54kB Tue Jan 29 21-23-50.jpg - 39kB

oberkarteufel - 29-1-2019 at 23:58

How about adding some bisulfite solution?
I couldn't find the confirmation that this is also true for camphor, but aldehydes and ketones are known for creating adducts with sodium bisulfite.

j_sum1 - 13-2-2019 at 20:03

Any day that three packages arrive from Poland is a good day.

I got some lovely "Fe2O3" with the distinct aroma of number fifteen. ;)

Herr Haber - 14-2-2019 at 04:06

Three ?
None of them from Keten I guess.

j_sum1 - 14-2-2019 at 04:30

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber  
Three ?
None of them from Keten I guess.

All three from Onyxmet and from the same order.
The multiplicity of packages was insurance against sensitive stuff having hiccups at the border. And it did not increase postage in this case.

CharlieA - 14-2-2019 at 18:48

Quote: Originally posted by NotThatKindofDoc  
Last chemicals ordered or bought:

Mineral oil
Magnesium shavings
Borneol
MENTHOL

Very hard to guess what i'll be attempting when I find some spare time


So, have you tried Nurdrage's synthesis of Na(s) yet? If so, how did it work out?

fusso - 14-2-2019 at 21:00

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Any day that three packages arrive from Poland is a good day.

I got some lovely "Fe2O3" with the distinct aroma of number fifteen. ;)
So what's "distinct aroma of number fifteen"?

Herr Haber - 20-2-2019 at 04:26

Onyx Met is preparing an order for me but something is troubling me.

The messages are signed Tom
If I pay by bank transfer the name is Christian.
If I pay by Paypal the name is Fred and the domain is bellsouth - far from Poland.

If you recently ordered (and received) something from them could you let me know if you went through a similar ordeal ?
I cant remember who I paid to last summer. What I do remember is Keten taking my money and playing dumb by mail (when he answered at all) so I'm a little bit paranoid.

[Edited on 20-2-2019 by Herr Haber]

DavidJR - 20-2-2019 at 04:32

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber  
Onyx Met is preparing an order for me but something is troubling me.

The messages are signed Tom
If I pay by bank transfer the name is Christian.
If I pay by Paypal the name is Fred and the domain is bellsouth - far from Poland.

If you recently ordered (and received) something from them could you let me know if you went through a similar ordeal ?
I cant remember who I paid to last summer. What I do remember is Keten taking my money and playing dumb by mail (when he answered at all) so I'm a little bit paranoid.

[Edited on 20-2-2019 by Herr Haber]


Yes, I paid by paypal and had a similar situation. However, all was well as my order turned up as expected. It does seem a bit unusual though...

j_sum1 - 20-2-2019 at 06:20

I think it is a business tax dodge. Where possible he has his international clients pay his international suppliers directly. Makes a certain cunning sense.

mayko - 22-2-2019 at 19:46

I got some ammonium molybdate in the mail a few weeks ago. The envelope it came in was open when I checked the mail, which was somewhat alarming (!). I opened it and found a bottle of white crystalline solid, with no label (!!). At first I assumed the glue on the envelope had failed solely due to the cold, but on closer inspection, the glue had a white crystalline solid embedded in it, compromising its stick (!!!). Spot tests (NaOH; acidic phosphate) confirmed that both the bottle's contents and the material in the envelope glue were ammonium molybdate, but the episode was sort of a headache and I didn't hear back when I mentioned it to the eBay vendor responsible.

Herr Haber - 26-2-2019 at 11:54

Weehee !

My order from OnyxMet arrived today.
All my worries were for nothing: the package was actually sent 2 days before payment ! All I can say is that builds a lot of trust.
There is one item missing but I'm sure we'll sort it out.

I am very pleased with the superfine synthetic diamonds. I have mentioned plans with diamonds to some members: soon !
I also got an interesting small vial of Galinstan 80 and all three colors of Strontium Aluminate that I'll use to dope some of the adultered phosphorescent pigments from eBay.

arkoma - 26-2-2019 at 15:52

KI, and before that sodium bisulfite.

woelen - 14-3-2019 at 08:03

Some rare chemicals:
- P4S10
- Re2O7
- Lu2O3

Besides that, I stocked up on some common chemicals:
- 450 grams of P.A. grade KMnO4
- 400 grams of very pure S (99.98%)
- 500 grams of Mg, small granules (around 1 mm size).

The latter I will use for making H2. Fine powders are too reactive, the small granules have good reactivity and provide a nice flow of H2 when added to 5% or so HCl.

DavidJR - 24-3-2019 at 17:19

Well, I've had a few goodies arrive recently, now that I'm able to order from Sigma Aldrich:


Best bit is... they accidentally sent me a litre of thionyl chloride instead of the 500ml I paid for.

[Edited on 25-3-2019 by DavidJR]

woelen - 25-3-2019 at 00:38

That order must have cost you a fortune :D
Good to see what kind of chemicals you can order. Especially thionyl chloride is a good one to have.

My P4S10 arrived last weekend. It is a free flowing yellow powder and it really smells awful!! It came in a glass bottle with plastic cap, and this bottle in turn is in a metal can (the type in which paint usually is stored), which I had to open with a big screw driver. When I opened this metal can, a really horrible waft of rotten egg odour escaped from it.

I did some first experiments with P4S10 and it is quite reactive. In hot water it bubbles vigorously, the bubbles being H2S. It is less flammable than I expected. When you keep a flame at the chemical, then it does not ignite immediately. You really have to keep it in a flame for several seconds before it starts burning. Once it burns, it keeps on burning, with a dense white smoke (P4O10) and a pungent odour (SO2).
Compared to P4S3 it is much less flammable. The latter immediately catches fire, even if conly brought in contact with a flame very briefly. P4S3 also behaves differently when brought in contact with alkaline solutions. P4S3 gives phosphine gas, P4S10 does not give any gas at all. It dissolves, giving phosphate and sulfide in alkaline solution.

The Re2O7 also arrived. It is a very nice greenish/yellow compound. It looks very nice.

DavidJR - 25-3-2019 at 02:38

Quote: Originally posted by woelen  

My P4S10 arrived last weekend. It is a free flowing yellow powder and it really smells awful!! It came in a glass bottle with plastic cap, and this bottle in turn is in a metal can (the type in which paint usually is stored), which I had to open with a big screw driver. When I opened this metal can, a really horrible waft of rotten egg odour escaped from it.


Oooh be careful with that one. I remember reading about a case of an industrial accident where a worker inhaled P4S10 dust and ended up brain damaged.

Herr Haber - 25-3-2019 at 04:26

Quote: Originally posted by DavidJR  

  • Phthalic anhydride, 1kg
    [Edited on 25-3-2019 by DavidJR]


    • I only know of a couple of uses but that seems like a massive amount.
    Now I'm massively curious :)

    fusso - 25-3-2019 at 09:54

    Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber  
    Quote: Originally posted by DavidJR  

  • Phthalic anhydride, 1kg
    [Edited on 25-3-2019 by DavidJR]


    • I only know of a couple of uses but that seems like a massive amount.
    Now I'm massively curious :)
    For making phenolphthalein?

    DavidJR - 25-3-2019 at 09:55

    Actually I'm mainly interested in making phthalocyanines. The 1kg was really cheap.

    DavidJR - 26-3-2019 at 18:01

    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
    That order must have cost you a fortune :D


    Well that was four separate orders but I added up the total cost including shipping and VAT and I’ve spent about £380.

    ipwn - 26-3-2019 at 18:53

    whats the best places to order besides Sigma, there is a list?

    Thanks

    DavidJR - 26-3-2019 at 19:53

    Quote: Originally posted by ipwn  
    whats the best places to order besides Sigma, there is a list?

    Thanks


    Yep, check the wiki: http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Lab_suppliers

    ipwn - 26-3-2019 at 20:30

    what about basic equipment?
    for example basic equipment for basic tasks?

    there is anything such as one portable equipment that can be used to perform many tasks? eg. tool box or swiss army knife equipment

    Thanks

    j_sum1 - 26-3-2019 at 21:03

    Quote: Originally posted by ipwn  
    what about basic equipment?
    for example basic equipment for basic tasks?

    there is anything such as one portable equipment that can be used to perform many tasks? eg. tool box or swiss army knife equipment

    Thanks

    Yes. Definitely use basic equipment for basic tasks.
    For example, I am using a basic keyboard to type basic words.

    But I am beginning to think I am responding to a troll.

    ipwn - 26-3-2019 at 22:17

    im sorry :)

    can you tell a bit which equipment is located on basic labs?

    do you know if any of these suppliers provide samples?

    j_sum1 - 26-3-2019 at 23:20

    What equipment are you talking about. A teaspoon is equipment. So is a mass spectromter.

    How about *you* figure out what you want to do and then research the methods available and the required equipment.
    Then, if you need some help with, say, configuring your setup or choosing a solvent you will be able to ask specific questions.

    At the moment it is like you are saying, I want food. What equipment is there on a farm?* There is no way anyone can help you.

    SWIM - 30-3-2019 at 11:32

    A few items from yet another defunct tech startup.
    The phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride is a new one for me.
    Lots of amino acids and other biochemistry type stuff.

    Not sure what all is in there. It was one of those, "Take everything because I need to get rid of it."situations.

    I may end up selling much of it off to defray the purchase price.
    This is about 1/2 of it.

    Edit: Geez, make that 1/3rd.
    Oxaloacetic acid?
    Hepes? I sure hope that isn't contagious...




    DSC04113.JPG - 2.5MB DSC04110.JPG - 2.7MB DSC04108.JPG - 2.8MB

    [Edited on 30-3-2019 by SWIM]

    Ubya - 30-3-2019 at 16:43

    25g of methylene blue, I just needed a small amount but the 1% solution was 10 times the price of the pure powder, now I can happily make 2.5L of indicator solution :D

    Loptr - 2-4-2019 at 15:52

    Well, it finally happened to me!

    MEK Substitute showed up at the local big box.

    Ethyl Acetate, 1 gal

    CharlieA - 2-4-2019 at 16:16

    Great find! Was the store orange or blue?

    Loptr - 2-4-2019 at 17:03

    Quote: Originally posted by CharlieA  
    Great find! Was the store orange or blue?


    Yep, it was the blue one.

    CharlieA - 3-4-2019 at 16:02

    Thanks. I'll go look for some. I was thinking about synthesizing a small for amount for some TLC experiments that I was thinking about. If I can find at the blue box, I'm sure it will be cheaper, and hopefully not require to much purification.

    C6(NO2)5CH2CH(CH3)N(NO2)2 - 9-4-2019 at 15:23

    Bought some 'instant cold packs' 140 gm of 'calcium ammonium nitrate' for 3usd. dissolves in water, leaving a brown sludge of chalk and some other impurities. Purification is in order:P

    DavidJR - 24-4-2019 at 03:11

    Another sigma order:



    I decided the £33 for PCL5 was good value - cheap, even - after trying to make a small amount from the elements and having two small lab fires in the process. The replacement extinguisher and replacement for the flask that now has an extra hole (which spewed out flaming phosphorus) together cost more than £33.

    [Edited on 24-4-2019 by DavidJR]

    UK EPP OTC

    Sulaiman - 5-5-2019 at 07:15

    Although I've just got rid of my liquids prior to migrating,
    I could not resist buying this
    AcidFront.jpg - 1009kB AcidRear1.jpg - 1.1MB
    £6 OTC, cash, no questions asked.

    The liquid is red rather than the usual brown,
    it chars tissue paper but more slowly than 96% acid,
    a quick density measurement indicates about 92% w/w.
    I'll try to use it up in the next few weeks.

    woelen - 6-5-2019 at 07:10

    Weird that you can buy compounds for which an EPP-license is needed. I think that you had some luck. In another shop it may be that they politely ask for a paper/proof of license and do not sell the bottle. It may even be dependent on a single person, who is not aware of the regulations and does not read all labels on bottles which customers buy.

    In the Netherlands this would be impossible. Any somewhat more risky material is behind a glass wall or behind a desk and you need to ask for it. For some items the people behind the desk certainly will know that a license is needed and they will not sell if you do not explicitly show them the correct papers.
    Risky items also can be obtained online and then in the purchase process the company certainly has a built-in guard for accidental delivery of licensed goods to non-licensed people. Many supply-sites for private persons (e.g. hobby-suppliers) have removed certain items completely from their webshops, such as HNO3, H2O2 in more than 10% concentration. Fortunately, in NL, the list of licensed compounds is short, only the 7 reagents which are regulated EU-wide.

    DavidJR - 6-5-2019 at 16:33

    Slightly scary one on order now- 100ml of dimethyl sulphate. I paid a little extra to get it in a Sure/Seal septum bottle because this will facilitate safer handling.

    woelen - 9-5-2019 at 03:34

    I decided not to order this stuff. I can buy 1000 ml of the stuff, but after reading about its toxic properties I decided not to buy it. Too toxic for home chemistry purposes in my opinion. Quite different from e.g. chlorosulfonic acid and sulfuryl chloride. The latter are toxic, due to their high corrosiveness, but methyl sulfate seems to be an incredibly potent systemic poison, which can kill you while you do not notice anything. At least chlorosulfonic acid and sulfuryl chloride are "honest". They clearly tell you that they attack you :D

    DavidJR - 9-5-2019 at 06:45

    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
    I decided not to order this stuff. I can buy 1000 ml of the stuff, but after reading about its toxic properties I decided not to buy it. Too toxic for home chemistry purposes in my opinion. Quite different from e.g. chlorosulfonic acid and sulfuryl chloride. The latter are toxic, due to their high corrosiveness, but methyl sulfate seems to be an incredibly potent systemic poison, which can kill you while you do not notice anything. At least chlorosulfonic acid and sulfuryl chloride are "honest". They clearly tell you that they attack you :D


    Yes, dimethyl sulfate is indeed nasty stuff. However I feel that I can handle it safely so long as I take extreme care:



    I did put a fair amount of thought into alternatives (and tried a few) but it seems like dimethyl sulfate is the only workable choice for what I want to do. Also, I was leaning towards not buying it until I saw that I could get it in a bottle with a septum, but with this I'm satisfied that I can use it safely.

    [Edited on 9-5-2019 by DavidJR]

    woelen - 9-5-2019 at 23:32

    Indeed, avoidance of release into the air and avoiding exposure is the key to safely using it. That is exactly where my problem is. If I work with solvents or other smelly chemicals, I always can smell some of it. For that reason I avoid strong systemic poisons. Smelly and corrosive stuff like ammonia, methylamine, sulphur dioxide, or even chlorine, chlorosulfonic acid and bromine I can work with. If I smell the stuff then I am not yet in danger, if the stuff begins to itch and causes irritation, then I know that the concentration is too high and I must quit. Working with these chemicals is like working very carefully with a very sharp knife. It must be handled with respect and sometimes it may even scratch your skin, without doing real damage, but when it scratches too much or to deeply you feel it and take countermeasures. I like chemicals to be "honest" ;)

    With systemic volatile poisons like strong methylating agents, volatile arsenic compounds, or certain potent carcinogenic organics, I have no such warning systems. Exposure today may cause adverse health effects after long periods of time, when I already have forgotten my exposure to the reagent. That is what is most scary of this kind of things. For that reason I simply do not do experiments with them. I am not sufficiently confident that I can handle these things in a responsible and safe way in my home setting.

    When something is not volatile and only is used in aqueous solution (e.g. lead salts, mercury salts), then I sometimes use them, albeit very sparingly, due to environmental concerns.

    My next order is in the post now, 1000 ml of 40% methylamine in water. Yummy smell :P , and somewhat corrosive (like ammonia, albeit a little less pungent), but not really toxic. It forms many interesting and colorful transition metal complexes and it can also be used to form perchlorate salts with nearly perfect oxygen balance (ammonia-based complexes have too much oxygen, complexes, based on bigger organic molecules have too little oxygen). Nice stuff to experiment with. Very colorful and sometimes a little energetic.

    [Edited on 10-5-19 by woelen]

    Herr Haber - 10-5-2019 at 03:43

    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  

    My next order is in the post now, 1000 ml of 40% methylamine in water. Yummy smell


    Ewww... Only yummy if you have fond memories of those teen years when girls were discovering intimate hygiene !

    I'm waiting for some Cobalt, Molybdenum, Nickel, Manganese, Chromium, Tungsten in several forms: beads, powder, crystals.

    All from China so I guess I can start to think about testing while it's on the way.

    DavidJR - 10-5-2019 at 05:20

    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  

    With systemic volatile poisons like strong methylating agents, volatile arsenic compounds, or certain potent carcinogenic organics, I have no such warning systems. Exposure today may cause adverse health effects after long periods of time, when I already have forgotten my exposure to the reagent. That is what is most scary of this kind of things. For that reason I simply do not do experiments with them. I am not sufficiently confident that I can handle these things in a responsible and safe way in my home setting.

    Yeah, it is certainly a worry. However at least with dimethyl sulphate, it isn't a cumulative poison like heavy metals, so repeated exposure to sub-toxic levels won't produce toxic effects as such. Of course it's highly carcinogenic (I imagine because it methylates DNA?) and repeated low-level exposure will still proportionally increase cancer risk. Personally - I am much more concerned with dealing with the acute toxicity of dimethyl sulphate - in doing that I will also be reducing the risk of chronic effects (cancer) to what I consider to be acceptable levels, taking into consideration that this will be an occasional thing, not something I use every weekend.

    That said, the acute toxicity of dimethyl sulphate is bad too.

    I've read about a case of poisoning, involving the spill of 125ml of an unknown liquid which turned out to be dimethyl sulphate. Nine people suffered symptoms of exposure to the vapours, of varying severity. Most concerning is the effects of ocular exposure to the vapours. However, all patients recovered fully. Apparently there was no direct skin contact with the liquid.

    (See http://sci-hub.tw/https://emj.bmj.com/content/22/12/878)

    However, the people involved weren't using the PPE or engineering controls that I plan to use to control the hazard, and they remained in the vicinity of the spill for some time rather than evacuating. In my usage, pretty much the worst case scenario would be a spill of the entire 100ml (which, given the fact that it's in a septum bottle, is only likely to happen if the bottle itself is dropped/smashed). In this scenario, I would apply liberal amounts of ammonia solution and adsorbent, leave the area (with the ventilation running), carefully remove PPE/clothing and shower if necessary. Hopefully in this case the use of the PPE will be enough to avoid poisoning.
    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  

    When something is not volatile and only is used in aqueous solution (e.g. lead salts, mercury salts), then I sometimes use them, albeit very sparingly, due to environmental concerns.

    Well, I guess one of the good things about things like dimethyl sulphate is that they can easily be converted to totally harmless materials for disposal. Mercury, on the other hand, will always be toxic and polluting to some degree, no matter what you do to it.

    RedDwarf - 10-5-2019 at 14:31

    Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
    Although I've just got rid of my liquids prior to migrating,
    I could not resist buying this

    £6 OTC, cash, no questions asked.

    The liquid is red rather than the usual brown,
    it chars tissue paper but more slowly than 96% acid,
    a quick density measurement indicates about 92% w/w.
    I'll try to use it up in the next few weeks.

    Was this in a chain or a corner store?

    mayko - 22-5-2019 at 18:09

    one of the profs down the hall is retiring, and offered up a bunch of equipment and chemicals for grabs. this .... has been the most incredible score to date. Highlights include:
    * various amino acids
    * various stains & dyes
    * hundreds of grams of cesium chloride
    * a few hundred grams of sodium fluoride
    * ~1L chloroform
    * ~ 500 mL nitric acid
    * sodium azide :o
    * Sodium cacodylate :o
    * ~500 mL 70% perchloric acid :o

    something I did NOT touch was the rusty, paint can sized tin labeled DIMETHYL SULFATE :o:o:o

    also:
    * an 'out of service' geiger counter
    * an electrophoresis power supply

    mayko - 6-7-2019 at 21:59

    at the Really Free Market, picked up some ammonium nitrate in the form of instant perineal cold packs!

    Sulaiman - 6-7-2019 at 22:44

    Quote: Originally posted by RedDwarf  
    Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
    Although I've just got rid of my liquids prior to migrating,
    I could not resist buying this

    £6 OTC, cash, no questions asked.

    The liquid is red rather than the usual brown,
    it chars tissue paper but more slowly than 96% acid,
    a quick density measurement indicates about 92% w/w.
    I'll try to use it up in the next few weeks.

    Was this in a chain or a corner store?

    It is an independant 'corner store'

    Herr Haber - 7-7-2019 at 06:51

    5 liters DCM (30Euros), a bunch of other solvents, plasicizers and tech grade easy to find chemicals (ZnO, CuSO4 etc).

    Seller even had 10 liters barrels of DCM but that's a lot even for all the extractions I could imagine.
    Seller also had Borax, Copper sulphate, oxalic acid, citric acid and a lot others.

    It was a store specialized in everything related to skateboarding, surfing, windsurfing and all kind of sports that use resins and fibers by the ton.
    I never thought interwoven carbon fibers & dyed Kevlar could look sooo good !

    mayko - 24-8-2019 at 10:32

    100g each of hydroquinone and potassium thiocyanate

    woelen - 3-9-2019 at 11:18

    I purchased dimethylether, 500 ml in a pressurized can. It is on OTC product, sold for the purpose of extracting THC from weed.

    https://www.cityplants.nl/dexso-d-m-e-500ml?utm_source=googl...

    Most sources are Dutch, but here is an international source: https://www.biotops.biz/en/growshop/hash-and-oil-extraction/...

    It also can be found on eBay, but it is much more expensive on eBay.

    I will use it for chemistry experiments. It easily can be taken from the bottle by putting a little soft plastic tube over the nozzle of the bottle and gently pressing it, while keeping the bottle upright so that it only escapes as gas.

    Dimethyl ether is safe on storage. It is in pressurized bottle, so no oxygen can mix with the ether and besides that, I remember having read once that dimethyl ether is not oxidized by oxygen from air to peroxides. The only disadvantage is that it is a gas, so handling is more difficult. The gas is EXTREMELY flammable, but otherwise harmless.

    DavidJR - 4-9-2019 at 13:14

    Quote: Originally posted by DavidJR  
    Slightly scary one on order now- 100ml of dimethyl sulphate. I paid a little extra to get it in a Sure/Seal septum bottle because this will facilitate safer handling.


    I never actually ended up receiving this, unfortunately. Refer Scientific, the Sigma Aldrich reseller I was using, never fulfilled the whole order or any of a subsequent order and stopped replying to my emails. Fortunately I paid by paypal....

    I was not expecting this at all given that I had several previous orders with no problems.

    However, this means I am back to the plebeian world of not being able to order from Sigma. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

    teodor - 27-9-2019 at 00:48

    Tin (II) chloride. For study of wet chemistry of tin purpose.

    tinCl2.jpg - 93kB

    woelen - 27-9-2019 at 13:53

    Keep it in a very well sealed container. Tin(II) chloride is hygroscopic, hydrolyses very easily, and also is easily oxidized by oxygen from air to tin(IV). If it is not stored properly it quickly becomes impure and solutions, even in hydrochloric acid, become turbid.

    teodor - 30-9-2019 at 11:58

    Thank you woelen. So, I plan to use this bottle (from Action). Hope it is well sealed for the purpose.

    bank.jpg - 128kB

    teodor - 13-10-2019 at 05:30

    The book and the chemicals arrived the same day.

    antimony.jpg - 137kB

    woelen - 7-1-2020 at 02:00

    I ordered the compound (dien), a.k.a. diethylene triamine, NH2CH2CH2NHCH2CH2NH2. It is an extension of (en), ethylene diamine. One of my suppliers has added this to the list of hobby chemicals for private users. I now can obtain this compound for a reasonable price (appr. EUR 35 for 500 ml of the pure compound). I also was tempted to buy a 60% solution of (trien), triethylene tetramine, but this is too expensive (EUR 50 for 500 ml). Maybe something for the near future.

    This new chemicals opens up the option of experimenting with a new set of complexes.

    Chemical Order

    MadHatter - 7-1-2020 at 05:09

    Last order: NH4NO3 and KClO3.
    Expecting it within the next week.

    Tellurium - 7-1-2020 at 20:03

    Right after the christmas bonus money from my job came I did a great investment :D

    Stuff that came yesterday:
    Magnesium metal powder reagent grade
    Zinc Oxide
    Hydrazine hydrate 40%
    Hydroxylamine Hydrochloride
    Molecular Sieves 3A
    P4O10
    Propionic Acid
    Cyclohexanol
    THF
    DCM
    Thiourea
    Glyoxal 40%
    1-Propanol

    What should arrive soon:
    Mercury
    Arsenic
    AlCl3
    Tellurium powder
    Selenous acid
    Guanidine hydrochloride

    woelen - 8-1-2020 at 07:34

    Interesting set of chemicals. Do you have a specific use in mind for propionic acid? I have an 80% solution of this acid, but up to now I did not find any use for this).

    I also see arsenic on your list. Please be careful with that. It easily forms volatile compounds in aqueous chemistry experiments, when reducing agents are used as well in those experiments. E.g. when you add zinc metal or magnesium metal to an acidic solution, containing As, then you get a lot of H2, but this also contains a little AsH3!! Be warned!! in conc. HCl you may get AsCl3. I once saw oily drops of this on the surface of conc. HCl. AsCl3 is quite stable at low pH and from arsenites and arsenous oxide it is formed. AsCl3 is volatile and with the fumes of conc. HCl you also will have some AsCl3!!

    Mercury is another nasty one, but when you make mercury salts, then the risk of getting volatile mercury compounds is low. You must, however, be careful with aerosols of small droplets of solution when a lot of gas is produced (e.g. when dissolving Hg in HNO3). I take care of that by putting a paper tissue loosely over a flask or test tube in which the gas is produced. the gas can easily escape, but the droplets are absorbed by the paper tissue.

    Herr Haber - 8-1-2020 at 08:54

    Tellurium can also be nasty in its own way :D

    I was wondering what special interest made you chose that nickname and order the element.
    I have 2x5 grams ampouled. I know I'd loooooove to make thiol analogues but I'm not sure my city is ready for it.
    I know I'm not !

    arkoma - 8-1-2020 at 09:31

    Glacial Acetic acid and Sodium Nitrite.

    DavidJR - 11-1-2020 at 02:15

    Haven't posted here in a while but I've recently bought a pile of stuff.

    Already received (various orders over the last 10 months, items listed in no particular order):



    [I've probably missed some but that's most of them]

    Ordered but waiting on:

    j_sum1 - 11-1-2020 at 02:34

    That's quite the list there, DJR.

    karlos³ - 11-1-2020 at 06:42

    I shopped perfumery ingredienst for my latest order.

    It consisted of:

    2-heptanone,
    2-acetonaphthone,
    indole,
    ethyl isovalerate,
    methyl anthranilate,
    2-methyl-1-phenyl-2-propanol,
    caraway oil for the (R)-carvone,
    helional,
    and a solution of oxytocine.

    woelen - 14-1-2020 at 03:10

    @DavidJR: That list of chemicals must have cost you a fortune, also because of the large quantities of quite a few of the chemicals. Isn't storage of these large quantities of these chemicals not an issue? I myself also have quite a few chemicals, but space only allows me to have small quantities. The only chemicals of which I have liter or kg quantities are the basic ones like conc. HCl, ammonia, NaOH, KNO3, H2SO4. Basically the stuff you can buy OTC or from many non-specialist sellers.

    Lion850 - 14-1-2020 at 23:51

    Nothing particularly exciting but today I got:
    - Barium chloride BaCl2.2H2O 500g at A$ (Australian $) 25
    - Strontium chloride SrCl2.6H2O 500g at A$ 20
    - Potassium Oxalate (COOK)2.H2O 500g at A$ 25
    - Sodium periodate NaIO4 100g. This was given free on 'trial' basis :)


    DavidJR - 15-1-2020 at 00:49

    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
    @DavidJR: That list of chemicals must have cost you a fortune, also because of the large quantities of quite a few of the chemicals. Isn't storage of these large quantities of these chemicals not an issue? I myself also have quite a few chemicals, but space only allows me to have small quantities. The only chemicals of which I have liter or kg quantities are the basic ones like conc. HCl, ammonia, NaOH, KNO3, H2SO4. Basically the stuff you can buy OTC or from many non-specialist sellers.


    Here's almost all of my chemical storage:

    IMG_20200114_234827__01.jpg - 1.7MB IMG_20200114_234857__01.jpg - 1.4MB

    j_sum1 - 22-1-2020 at 03:05

    Uranyl acetate. 65g.
    No prizes for working out who I got this from.

    This is my first uranium salt and will be quite enough to prepare a couple of interesting displays for the element collection. Most pleasant to spend some time with a fellow SM member and to visit his lab. :)

    Tdep - 22-1-2020 at 05:35

    You can just own uranium acetate in Aus j-sum1? I've never been able to work out the regulations

    j_sum1 - 22-1-2020 at 15:05

    Quote: Originally posted by Tdep  
    You can just own uranium acetate in Aus j-sum1? I've never been able to work out the regulations

    I don't know if I can, but I do.
    I have no clear idea what the regulations say either although I have not looked for some time. What I have encountered is potential suppliers who have said, "we can't supply that" or "we can't ship that".
    Happy to find out more if you know anything.

    B(a)P - 22-1-2020 at 17:37

    Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
    Quote: Originally posted by Tdep  
    You can just own uranium acetate in Aus j-sum1? I've never been able to work out the regulations

    I don't know if I can, but I do.
    I have no clear idea what the regulations say either although I have not looked for some time. What I have encountered is potential suppliers who have said, "we can't supply that" or "we can't ship that".
    Happy to find out more if you know anything.


    From what I understand you need an ARPANSA licence if you operate an emitting device or if you intend to transport an emitting device, or transport a contained or uncontained radioactive source. However, there is no guidance on the legalities around storage and use of radioactive contained or uncontained substances by hobbyist. Some states have additional requirements that usually sit with their EPA or equivalent, nothing in NSW though and I don't know about Qld.

    woelen - 23-1-2020 at 05:37

    I obtained some Dutch army surplus trioxane fuel tablets. This is the trimer of formaldehyde in a remarkably pure form (it burns with a pale blue flame, very cleanly without any smoke and leaves no residue at all). On heating it decomposes to anhydrous gaseous formaldehyde. I came across this stuff and on impulse I decided to buy it (21 big tablets for just EUR 10, less than 50 cents per tablet). One tablet is good for 3 average length cooking sessions. Any ideas for interesting organic chemistry experiments with this?

    j_sum1 - 23-1-2020 at 06:20

    In my experience, such tablets are a mixture of hexamine and trioxane - or are at least reported to be that. I have sevetal packets but have not thought of a use for them beyond their intended use.

    woelen - 23-1-2020 at 23:41

    The newer ones indeed are either hexamine, or a mix of hexamine and trioxane, but the ones I obtained are from the late 1960's or early 1970's, still packaged in vacuum-sealed Al-foil. The label also says "trioxane", MIL-F-10805. If you look up this code, then you see that it is pure trioxane, old NATO surplus material. This purchase was just a gamble, but I think I am lucky with having purchased a nice interesting product. I now have 21 tablets of 30 grams of trioxane, sufficient to do a lot of experiments with it. The stuff comes in boxes of three individually sealed tablets, I picked up 7 boxes for EUR 10.

    I also have hexamine (not the tablets, but the pure chemical from a chemical supplier). This stuff burns with a pale orange flame and has a fishy odor. This is quite different from my trioxane tablets.

    Cou - 29-1-2020 at 14:24

    Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
    I obtained some Dutch army surplus trioxane fuel tablets. This is the trimer of formaldehyde in a remarkably pure form (it burns with a pale blue flame, very cleanly without any smoke and leaves no residue at all). On heating it decomposes to anhydrous gaseous formaldehyde. I came across this stuff and on impulse I decided to buy it (21 big tablets for just EUR 10, less than 50 cents per tablet). One tablet is good for 3 average length cooking sessions. Any ideas for interesting organic chemistry experiments with this?


    Dissolve in ether for grignard reactions x)

    Chemical order

    MadHatter - 29-1-2020 at 15:56

    Received my chemical order. My personal passion
    is for energetics, particulary pyrotechnics.

    Woelen, years ago I had a case of the military
    hexamine fuel tablets. 6 tablets per tube. It
    looks like something from the Korean War era.
    I used them as fuel(with oxidizer) in rockets.
    They did a good job !


    [Edited on 2020/1/29 by MadHatter]

    Lion850 - 31-1-2020 at 19:25

    This last week:
    - Phosporous pentoxide 500g AR
    - Barium hydroxide 700g LR
    - Calcium hydroxide 500g
    - Toluene approx. 1.5L AR
    - Carbon disulphide approx. 1.5L TG
    - Tetrahydrofuran 1.5L AR
    - Lead nitrate 300g
    All supplied by Science Essentials. Some old stock at reduced price (or so I am told :) )

    woelen - 8-2-2020 at 12:32

    Finally my order of diethylenetriamine (dien) arrived. This stuff looks very much like ethylene diamine (en), but it is less volatile and hence fumes less than (en). It also has a similar smell, albeit a little more putrid and a little less ammoniacal and also less pungent.

    My first experiment with this is using it as a ligand with nickel(II) ions. The color of the complexes is really like the colors of the (en) complexes. When you add a 30% (dien) solution to a nickel salt (e.g. the sulfate), then you first get a pale blue precipitate and on adding more of the (dien) you get a blue solution, which turns darker on addition of more (dien) and also becomes clear again. On addition of even more (dien) the solution turns purple, much like the [Ni(en)3](2+) complex. With (dien), which is tridentate, you get [Ni(dien)2](2+).

    I now make the perchlorate salt of this complex and hope to isolate the crystalline material tomorrow. The perchlorate salt of this complex is only sparingly soluble in cold water, but in boiling water it dissolves quite well. This makes it possible to isolate this complex very well. Tomorrow I will have to recrystallize it from a dilute solution of (dien) in order to get rid of other cationic species, which I introduce in the process of making (impure) nickel perchlorate.

    Lion850 - 21-2-2020 at 20:03

    This week I got:
    - Potassium sulphate AR grade 500g (I have fertilizer grade but wanted a better quality for some reactions)
    - Potassium chloride LR grade 500g
    - Chromic sulphate pentahydrate 500g LR grade (I wanted some 50g but was offered the whole bottle at the same price....)
    - Molybdic acid 500g AR grade (MoO3 - 90% min plus Ammonium hydrogen molybdate, I am told this mix id the way it is usually supplied, I assume for stability???).
    - Cerium (iii) nitrate hexahydrate, some 20g as a freebie.

    Too many things to do, not enough time.

    woelen - 7-3-2020 at 12:18

    I ordered a very hard to obtain chemical, 150 grams of H2SeO4, 80% by weight. This is appr. 100 ml of acid.
    Let's see whether I can do interesting things with this. This was not a cheap buy, it cost me more than EUR 45.
    This acid is said to be a very strong oxidizer, capable of dissolving gold and allowing free Au(3+), without coordination to chloride.

    Lion850 - 8-3-2020 at 00:23

    Today I got:
    - Praseodymium (iii,iv) oxide 500g probably technical grade (from a supplier to the ceramics industry)
    - Tungstic acid 99% 100g
    - Sodium persulfate 300g LR
    - Cerium (iv) ammonium sulfate 300g 99.9%

    Lion850 - 20-3-2020 at 00:03

    Today I got ammonia solution, 28%, 2.5L, AR grade. I intend to make more ammonia solution for general use but wanted some of known strength and purity.
    I also picked up 400g of ammonium thiocyanate, LR grade.

    Herr Haber - 21-3-2020 at 00:52

    Last Saturday I got 4 items from Chemcraft.

    I'd like to know where are the 24 items that are missing and why I didnt get a reply from them for over a week now.
    It's just 276 Euros after all...

    Chemcraft - 21-3-2020 at 14:12

    Please check again. We have answered all your emails. Your order has been sent in three parcels. You received only one of them, the rest were sent from Russia on March 11, and soon you will receive them too. The track numbers of ALL parcels you have in your account on the website. There is COMPLETE tracking information.
    Unfortunately due to the CoVID-19 delivery time may be increased.

    TmNhRhMgBrSe - 25-3-2020 at 22:56

    Silver.

    B(a)P - 26-3-2020 at 00:14

    Finally got my latest order of aminoguanidine bicarbonate after 6 long weeks of waiting (thanks COVID19) :cool:.

    Herr Haber - 26-3-2020 at 05:20

    Quote: Originally posted by Chemcraft  
    Please check again. We have answered all your emails. Your order has been sent in three parcels. You received only one of them, the rest were sent from Russia on March 11, and soon you will receive them too. The track numbers of ALL parcels you have in your account on the website. There is COMPLETE tracking information.
    Unfortunately due to the CoVID-19 delivery time may be increased.



    I received the second e-mail (thanks) and the information on the packages.

    Next time I'll look more closely at your interface :)
    Now I'm just hoping the two missing parcels arent returned to you by the post office. They dont deliver parcels for the time being.

    Herr Haber - 2-4-2020 at 03:05

    Weehee !

    All my packages from Chemcraft arrived.

    The Be rods are beautiful, the Samarium ampoule looks as good as the best samples you can see online and others talked about their Na ampoules already.

    I have to say that I was a bit turned down by the shipping costs but that's not specific to Chemcraft. Shipping from Russia is not cheap.
    But the quality of the packaging completely makes up for that.

    I mean really great and worth every Rouble ! Nothing to repackage and some of the elements mentioned above could be placed on display straight out of the box.


    [Edited on 2-4-2020 by Herr Haber]
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