What Is Trinitrobenzene?
Trinitrobenzene is a compound formed by the action of a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids on benzene under very strong conditions.
It is often abbreviated as “TNB.” It normally exists in a white crystalline state and can cause violent explosions when subjected to shock or heat.
Uses of Trinitrobenzene
Trinitrobenzene is mainly used as an explosive and gunpowder. This is because it can cause an explosion when heated rapidly.
Trinitrotoluene is also often used for similar purposes. Trinitrobenzene is characterized by its insensitivity and explosive power compared to trinitrotoluene.
However, due to its higher production cost, trinitrotoluene is more widely and commonly used.
Properties of Trinitrobenzene
Trinitrobenzene is a highly reactive and explosive substance. In fact, it is sometimes used as an explosive. These properties of trinitrobenzene are due to the nitro group.
Trinitrotoluene (TNT), another well-known explosive, has three nitro groups and is very similar in structure to trinitrobenzene.
1. Nitro Group
Nitro groups are highly reactive functional groups with strong electron-withdrawing properties. Many nitro compounds containing numerous nitro groups are explosive.
Nitro compounds are explosive because the bond between the nitrogen and oxygen in the nitro group is unstable. The bond between nitrogen and oxygen is fragile and generates a lot of heat when decomposed.
When many nitro groups are present, once a reaction starts, the reaction proceeds in a chain and rapidly, resulting in an explosion.
2. Nitrogen Oxides
The bond between nitrogen and oxygen generates heat when it decomposes because the bond between nitrogen and oxygen is an endothermic reaction that absorbs heat from its surroundings. At room temperature, nitrogen and oxygen do not react, but in a hot environment, they absorb ambient heat and combine to form nitrogen oxides (NOx).
For example, nitrogen oxides are produced when gasoline burns in a car engine. Nitrogen oxides cause air pollution and acid rain, so they are converted back to nitrogen by a catalyst before being exhausted.
The nitro group contains the high energy of the bonding of nitrogen and oxygen, and when this energy is released all at once, an explosion occurs.
3. Benzene Ring
Trinitrobenzene, which contains three highly reactive nitro groups, can exist because the benzene ring is a stable base. The benzene ring is a highly stable structure in the molecular structure of organic compounds. In fact, the benzene ring itself rarely changes to another structure.
Normally, carbon double bonds are fragile and prone to addition bonds, in which one bond opens to join another atomic group, but the benzene ring has special properties that make such addition bonds less likely to occur.
Structure of Trinitrobenzene
Trinitrobenzene has a benzene ring to which three nitro groups (NO2) are attached. Each nitro group is attached to a carbon atom of the benzene ring one at a time. This is called a meta-bond.
Other Information on Trinitrobenzene
1. Substitution Reaction of Benzene Ring
Substitution reactions, in which a hydrogen bonded to a carbon atom of the benzene ring is replaced by another functional group, are relatively easy to carry out, making it possible to produce compounds with many functional groups attached to the benzene ring, such as trinitrobenzene.
2. Trinitrobenzene Production Method
The industrial synthesis of trinitrobenzene is achieved by decarboxylation of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzoic acid to 1,3,5-trinitrotoluene, which is then oxidized to 1,3,5-trinitrobenzoic acid, which is decarboxylated to form 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene.
3. Trinitrobenzene Safety Information
It is classified as a hazardous and explosive substance, so care must be taken when handling it.