Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Chemicals with a strong smell

Chemicals with a strong smell

nbgoku - 27-5-2016 at 14:06

Hi there

Do you all have any chemicals that you can think of in a laboratory that give off a very strong smell and should be used under the chemhood

I just used Glacial Acetic Acid today and I had no idea how strong the smell was . from now on I am using it under the chemhood

I have created a list so far, if anyone has anything else I can add that would be great:
* Acetic Acid (Glacial Acetic Acid)
* Acetonitrile
* Ammonia
* Beta-mercaptoethanol
* Cadaverine
* Chloroform
* Formaldehyde
* Hydrogen sulfide
* Methanol
* N-Butanol
* Oleum
*Paraformaldehyde
* Sulfuric acid
*Trimethylamine
*Virkon

Thanks!

aga - 27-5-2016 at 14:17

The List you wish for would be extremly long.

Many chemicals have a strong smell.

Google 'perfumes' or 'aromatics' to find many many lists.

Edit:

IMHO GAA ranks as 'mild'.
Conc Ammonia ranks as 'sharp, tolerable'
Skatole ranks as 'rank'

and so on : It's too subjective to be useful.

[Edited on 27-5-2016 by aga]

NeonPulse - 27-5-2016 at 16:18

Sulfuric acid isn't that bad compared to many others. There's just too many- there's at least ten more with strongly disagreeable odours I can think of including several amines without thinking too hard about it. Maybe if you narrow down your list you would get somewhere.

DraconicAcid - 27-5-2016 at 16:26

You don't have any phosphines on that list? For shame.

You've also missed aga.

Bert - 27-5-2016 at 20:05

A shout out for Selenium and Telurium compounds.

http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2012/05/15/thi...

solitanze - 27-5-2016 at 23:11

Bromine immediately comes to mind. The stench is unbearable.

unionised - 28-5-2016 at 04:28

Sulphuric acid should be too involatile to smell. If you think it smells you are probably detecting impurities.

As far as I am concerned acetonitrile is practically odourless.
Some people lack some odour receptors so there will always be disagreements about what things smell strongly.

arsphenamine - 28-5-2016 at 07:35

Wine Lactone is unusually potent, if the Wikipedia article is correct, listing detection thresholds in the picogram/litre range.

Eddygp - 28-5-2016 at 07:48

The Mozingo reduction is a rather efficient "teacher" of how thiols actually DO smell that bad.

aga - 28-5-2016 at 15:18

Quote: Originally posted by arsphenamine

Wine Lactone is unusually potent

362 million molecules at the lower detection end of 0.00001 ng/L

Maths is ace !

100PercentChemistry - 30-5-2016 at 09:34

Thiol something. I remember from a video that a couple drops leaked and someone smelled it a mile away.

Edit:didn't read the first post all the way. I agree with glacial acetic acid

[Edited on 5-30-2016 by 100PercentChemistry]

careysub - 30-5-2016 at 09:58

Quote: Originally posted by 100PercentChemistry

Thiol something. I remember from a video that a couple drops leaked and someone smelled it a mile away.

Edit:didn't read the first post all the way. I agree with glacial acetic acid

[Edited on 5-30-2016 by 100PercentChemistry]

Probably a reference to thioacetone:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thioacetone

careysub - 30-5-2016 at 10:08

Quote: Originally posted by aga

Quote: Originally posted by arsphenamine

Wine Lactone is unusually potent

362 million molecules at the lower detection end of 0.00001 ng/L

Maths is ace !

If the lower figure is correct, then 1000 kg of this chemical would cover the entire surface of the Earth with a detectable odor cloud 200 meters deep! At least it smells pleasant.