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Author: Subject: Best and worst smelling chemicals?
guaguanco
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[*] posted on 27-3-2004 at 22:40


Quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Wizard
I think the name for the fecal odors is Indole or the Indole family.

Skatole (3-methyl indole)
[img]http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:ggxB61TvkekJ:www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Chemistry/MOTM/silly/skatole.gif[/img]
Ironically in very dilute concentrations it has a pleasant odor and is used in the perfume industry.
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guaguanco
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[*] posted on 27-3-2004 at 22:44


I remember on of the incidents that led me to change from a chem major to geology. I went into the chemistry building one day and was hit by an overpowering sulfury stench which had permeated the entire building. I went up to the 9th floor to see my teaching assistant. I found him in his lab eating his lunch. 'What smell?' was his reaction to my question about the stench.
I realized that chemistry as a career might not be a healthy thing...

[Edited on 28-3-2004 by guaguanco]
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[*] posted on 28-3-2004 at 07:58


Quote:
Originally posted by AngelEyes
Some of those alkyl esters have a peculiar, but very nice, smell. One that springs to mind is Ethyl Acetate (Ethyl Ethanoate - Pear Drops, yes?) - reminds me of school tuck shops...


Ethyl acetate smells nice :D Are we the only two who likes it?

Im surprised no one mentioned ethanol yet :D I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something really nice about its smell.
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[*] posted on 28-3-2004 at 09:33


Skatole? This is the name of the poo-poo smell?

Is anyone here familiar with skat? Or scat, I believe it is spelt. It's pornography in which people spread shit all over each other and have disturbing orgasms. Not that I'm into this kind of thing but I was just wondering if this is where the name had come from? Because Scat seems pretty off-key for some kinky porn name.

Cadaverine? Putrescine? HAHA. Most appropriate names.

I love wintergreen oil. I'd bathe in it if it was harmless. I'm sure it'd also make a beautifully scented lubricant to accompany my scattish endeavors ;)

:D

[Edited on 28-3-2004 by thunderfvck]




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[*] posted on 28-3-2004 at 09:49


Scat? Rember the "Scat Man" song popular in the early 90's? Now that's scat man!:D



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[*] posted on 28-3-2004 at 11:24


I like the smell of the di- and mono- nitro toluenes:D(smell a bit like almonds, sort of).
However, I really dislike formaldehyde, and the mixture of gasses that comes off a wet animal corpse, that is placed in an airtight container, in the sun. YUCK!.
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[*] posted on 1-5-2004 at 00:20
Smells


My favourite chemical smell? hmmm...burning black powder i think,

And the vote for the worst: Chlorine, the merest whiff of it knocks me sick to the stomach, even as a kid in swimming pools. eeeurrrghh!




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[*] posted on 1-5-2004 at 19:24


Best: chlorobutanol, methyl salicylate, and burning blackpowder.
Worst: Chlorine, sodium hypochlorite solution, calcium hypochlorite and all acid fumes.
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[*] posted on 22-5-2004 at 17:53


I worked with nitrobenzene today, I forgot how good it smelled, I just wanted to drink it. Even though I did not smell it directly I still got a headache though. I guess nitrobenzene would be the best smelling pure compound I have worked with aside from vanillin.

As for worst smelling that's a hard one. Really, Cl2 has a somewhat pleasant aroma to it to me now and NaOCl really doesn't offend me in the slightest. I guess it would have to be something like putracine. Those amines resulting from decay in general. One time I had to climb down in a well to remove a rabbit that had fallen in a during the winter. I got to the bottom before I had to take a breath. By the time I got to the top I had thrown up all over myself. The stench although not insanely bad gave me an almost involuntary vomiting reflex.




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vulture
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[*] posted on 23-5-2004 at 05:46


Does anybody now the insanely bad smelling stuff that is in blue methylated spirits? It makes me wanna vomit...



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[*] posted on 23-5-2004 at 06:06


Hmm vulture, over here the denatured ethanole doesnt smell pretty, but it is not making me want to vomit.

5 minutes ago I was using some 92% denatured alc. from Poland, and it smelled better, almost like hunny :D
(Think of all the poor children, hmmmm liquid hunny :P)

Hmmm, the skull now I look at it, it's almost like its smiling :o

Edit: Worst: NOx, Acetone
Best: Nafta (smells like a old engine)


[Edited on 23-5-2004 by Michal]

denatured.jpg - 75kB
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[*] posted on 23-5-2004 at 06:13


Wow. Freaky pic :D

I love the smell of 95% ethanol, its so sweet and... I cant describe the rest :P

Acetone isnt too bad, until you take a huge whiff and hits you so hard you almost pass out.




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[*] posted on 23-5-2004 at 06:26


Yeah your right, its not that bad....

But a week ago I was making Blackpowder (CIA) and the acetone was boiling away and I had the perfect idea to take a big snif ---> aarrrghhh it feels like your lungs/nose etc. get very cold :mad: and the smell is ... ehr... not nice :o




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[*] posted on 24-5-2004 at 05:57


I have just recently decided that the smell of the smoke coming off of smoldering, wet HMTD is quite disgusting.

[Edited on 24-5-2004 by tom haggen]




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madscientist
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[*] posted on 24-5-2004 at 06:33


Liquid MEKP definitely has the weirdest smell.

My favorite is a toss up between xylene/toluene/gasoline, acetone peroxide, and HNO<sub>3</sub>. My taste for HNO<sub>3</sub>'s acrid odor was definitely an acquired one. :D

[Edited on 24-5-2004 by madscientist]




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[*] posted on 24-5-2004 at 21:15


I love the smell of HCl, it is very invigorating ;) and the smell of certain kinds of epoxy- some smell like delicious cherry-flavored mouth watering gum drops. I was using lots of this variety and couldn't help sniffing the container several times. Mmmmm! Ahhh!

As for foul smells, SO2 and SO3
really are nasty, but I suppose I'll learn to like them.




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[*] posted on 25-5-2004 at 00:51


HCl??!! My god.... You freak :P



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[*] posted on 6-6-2004 at 12:48


vanilline is supposed to be one of the best smelling, and
some mercaptanes to be the worst

I could post some "jam jar" synths if anyones interested... (ethylmercaptane and butyric acid)

[Edited on 6-6-2004 by efraim_barkbit]
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[*] posted on 6-6-2004 at 16:47


Well, the best smelling chemicals that I've encountered so far would probably have to be chloroform followed by ethanol. Both have a sort of heady armoa that is impossible to describe or even characterize and makes me want to smell them even more to relive the sensation. Followed closely would have to be cumene hydroperoxide aka CHP, a chem I use at work when mixing vinyl ester resins. It's got a sweet, almost fruity smell, though it has a nasty habit of eating through the latex gloves we have to use and burning like hell when it does (I've learned to work fast and use 2 pairs of gloves).

Worst smelling ones would have to be the odor of SO3 when trying to dehydrate H2SO4, and the dimethylaniline that I use on the job. It's got the "amine like odor" that basically smells like concentrated urine. Also, its interesting to read the label on it, where it can be absorbed through the eyes, and causes cyanosis as a symptom of overdose (bluing of fingernails and lips).
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[*] posted on 19-6-2004 at 19:58


The worst that I've smelled so far has to be 2-mercaptoethanol. Stupid disulfide link breaker. I also can't stand the smell of acetic acid.

With the exception of certain esters, I find that Acetone is my favorite smelling chemical.
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[*] posted on 20-6-2004 at 13:30


Ethanol, Vanillin, Gasoline, acetone, and burning gunpowder are all smells that I find to be very good :D . HCl, pyridine, methylamine, and formaldehyde are some of the worst smells I have ever inhaled!



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[*] posted on 21-6-2004 at 17:51


No one's favorite is ether? When not too concentrated that sweet odor is hard to stop smelling. :) First time I encountered the vapor, it smelled unlike anything I had ever known.
Phenylselenol is probably the worst. That goes right along the lines of the other posters who made mentions of selenide/ols and telluride/ols, both alkyl and hydrogen. These are probably the worst odors known. (isocyanides?)
The formaldehyde, HCl, and hypochlorites mentioned are pussycats. I'd wager anyone who places these types of irritant-type smells as the worst has never smelled a chalcogen derivative (S,Se,Te).
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[*] posted on 22-6-2004 at 07:44


worst so far: formaldehyde, ammonia
best: chloroform, dichloromethane, burnt nitrocellulose.
most rewarding: acetaldehyde, nitric acid, that sweet smell when I add toleune to nitrating acid.




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[*] posted on 22-6-2004 at 08:21


Quote:
Originally posted by froot
worst so far: formaldehyde, ammonia


In my opinion, formaldehyde and ammonia don't smell particularly bad per se. However, they both cause choking, which is what makes smelling them unpleasant. If it wasn't for their physiological effects, I doubt I would mind smelling either.




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[*] posted on 23-6-2004 at 06:11


2-Butanol (Sec-Butyl Alcohol) smelle very bad, i'm working quite a lot with it, it's our all purpose alcohol here. I'm currently trying to make ester with it, i hope they'll smell good.



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