Any useful or interesting chemistry that can be done with Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)? I have a kilo of the powder (human consumption grade) that I
noticed has been expired for 11 months so I will not be using it for its intended purpose but I hate just tossing it out. How important is the dated
expiration? I already got a new kilo in so I will not be using it anyway but I am curious. Has been stored in the dark in a sealed airtight bag at
average room temperature for 2 years.
wish i had a kraken!!! - 14-11-2015 at 22:03
I guess U can mix it with Nitrate based oxidizers ,such as KNO3 and make an amatory solid fuel. Texium - 14-11-2015 at 22:17
It's useful as a reducing agent in some situations. It will reduce copper(II) to copper(I), or to very fine copper metal if used in excess, and it
will reduce vanadium(V) to vanadium(III). I have not yet used it for anything else.IrC - 14-11-2015 at 22:45
Interesting. I had heard of using citric acid as a fuel but never heard of using ascorbic. It is flammable so makes sense. Also interesting idea of
copper chemistry. All I knew before having never bothered to look it up was iron stains in pools and in photography. Guess I need to keep it around
after all. j_sum1 - 14-11-2015 at 22:52
IrC. If you have that amount of surplus, you might want to share the love. JJay - 15-11-2015 at 00:12
It's a good preservative for some easily oxidized compounds. I would like to have some but I haven't seen any on the shelf around here anywhere.kecskesajt - 15-11-2015 at 05:04
Rocket fuel, as every time.Or mortar if you are into pyrotechnics.
I heard that ascorbic acid could reduce benzoic acid to benzene,but I failed.Even with catalysts.unionised - 15-11-2015 at 06:23
I heard that ascorbic acid could reduce benzoic acid to benzene,but I failed.Even with catalysts.
You can't reduce benzoic acid into benzene, even with something like LAH. You could get toluene, but no benzene. You would need to decarboxylate
benzoic acid to get benzene.IrC - 15-11-2015 at 08:07
IrC. If you have that amount of surplus, you might want to share the love.
Would not be a problem since as I stated in another thread I make it a habit to not keep chemicals I have no immediate use for but this stuff is
cheaper in your local area than the shipping from afar. Have you tried shipping a package between OZ and the states lately? There was a radio model I
had looked for over many years and the seller had a decently low price on it. Yet the shipping was twice the cost so I did not buy it. Still trying to
understand why OZ is ten times the shipping cost to here as China is. kecskesajt - 15-11-2015 at 08:50
I was not suggesting sending to oz. But others close by might relieve you of some.phlogiston - 15-11-2015 at 13:14
A 60/40 mixture of ascorbic acid/potassium nitrate is known as 'golden powder' and works pretty well as a substitute for black powder.Boffis - 15-11-2015 at 13:40
Ascorbic keeps pretty well if kept dry, use by dates are just another way of keeping sales up.
Ascorbic acid is a reducing agent and dissolves black manganese oxides rapid; it is used by mineral collectors for the purpose of removing Mn oxide
staining from specimens without damaging most other minerals.
It forms a deep purple complex with ferrous iron and possibly complexes with other metals.
It can be used in organic chemistry as a reducing agent either alone or with iron salt for example to reduce picric acid to picramic acid; quinones to
quinols etc.
