I can find only one reference to this compound on this site, and only a brief mention at that. In addition, I have come across one brief paragraph
from the 1930s regarding the simplicity and cheapness off the compound, saying that it was equal to nitroglycerin in properties, except it was a solid
and do easier and safer to handle.
There must be some unannounced downside to it or it would have gained greater popularity, I believe.
Has anytime here any experience with the compound?franklyn - 17-3-2013 at 08:17
It would not be nitro but rather nitrate same nomenclature as for glycerine
a nitro compound of this aliphatic ring would be a cyclohexane variant.
There must be some unannounced downside to it or it would have gained greater popularity
Perhaps low yields and impurities? These long chain sugar alcohols tend to be vulnerable to destructive oxidation. The initial product from the
nitration might contain some partially nitrated oxidation products. The only way to purify the product would be crystallization (not really a feasible
industrial route, for obvious reasons).
For those of you wanting more chemistry details, the central CH group in nitroglycerin is also vulnerable to oxidation, but if it does get oxidized it
opens up the entire molecule to immediate oxidative destruction. Usually any by-products that are only partially oxidized are very soluble in the
acids, so do not contaminate the product.
