Difference between revisions of "Hydroxylammonium nitrate"

Revision as of 13:59, 8 January 2020

Hydroxylammonium nitrate or hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NH₃OHNO₃ or H₄N₂O₄, the nitrate salt of hydroxylamine.

Properties

Chemical

Hydroxylammonium nitrate is unstable because it contains both a reducing agent (hydroxylammonium cation) and an oxidizer (nitrate), the situation being analogous to ammonium nitrate. It is usually handled as an aqueous solution.

Physical

Hydroxylammonium nitrate is a white solid, soluble in water.

Explosive

Hydroxylammonium nitrate is sensitive to shock and its sensitivity is greatly increased by the presence of metal salts. It will also explode if heated above 48 °C.

Availability

Hydroxylammonium nitrate is available as aq. solution, and the solid form usually has to be prepared in situ.

Preparation

Hydroxylammonium nitrate can be easily produced by mixing hydroxylammonium sulfate with barium nitrate.

Alternatively, an aq. solution of silver or lead(II) nitrate can be added to an aq. solution of hydroxylammonium chloride.

Various preparation methods can be found here

Projects

• Rocket propellant

Handling

Safety

Hydroxylammonium nitrate is flammable and explosive.

It is an irritant to the respiratory tract, skin, eyes, and other mucous membranes.

Storage

For safety reasons, it's best to store it as aq. solution, and avoid storing it in solid form for long periods of time.

Disposal

Hydroxylammonium nitrate should be diluted with water first, then gently reduced with a mixture of Zn/HCl.

It can also be neutralized by diluting it with water and carefully adding iron salts that accelerate its decomposition.

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads

• hydrazine nitrate and hydroxylamine nitrate