Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Ozone mix sensitivities

chornedsnorkack - 23-4-2014 at 03:13

How liable to explode are ozone and its mixtures with reducers?

Ozone (like hydrogen peroxide) itself releases energy when decomposing to dioxygen, and can be exploded. Liquid and solid ozone are regarded as dangerously sensitive.

How about gaseous ozone and gas mixtures with large proportion of ozone - are they easily set off?

Also, reducers...

Ozone easily and spontaneously (and therefore quietly) adds to unsaturated organics.

How stable are mixtures of ozone with saturated organics? How sensitive are they? Or how about ozone/dihydrogen mixtures?

Dornier 335A - 23-4-2014 at 04:12

From Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items by Fedoroff:
Quote:
Explns may be initiated by minute amounts of catalysts or organic matter, shocks, electric sparks, sudden changes in temp or pressure, etc.

The list of incompatible materials is long:
Quote:
Hazardous reactions reported in the literature between ozone and aniline, benz, bromine, diallyl methyl carbinol and acetic acid, diethyl ether, dinitrogen pentoxide, ethylene, hydrogen bromide, hydrogen iodide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen trichloride, nitrogen triiodide, NG, organic liquids, organic matter, and silbine

Liquid ozone is miscible with liquid methane and carbon monoxide in all proportions, and those mixtures are likely to be powerful explosives. They are not usable in reality though, as the slightest provocation or impurity will cause detonation.

ScienceSquirrel - 23-4-2014 at 07:30

Ozone is normally reacted with alkenes at a very low concentration in a stream of the carrier gas from which it is formed, either oxygen or dry air, at low temperatures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozonolysis
I suspect that a high concentration of ozone would have nasty consequences.
Liquid ozone explodes on contact with silicone grease when allowed to warm above liquid nitrogen temperatures.