- Source: Methyl azide
Methyl azide is an organic compound with the formula CH3N3. It is a white solid and it is the simplest organic azide.
Preparation and properties
Methyl azide can be prepared by the methylation of sodium azide, for instance with dimethyl sulfate in alkaline solution, followed by passing through a tube of anhydrous calcium chloride or sodium hydroxide to remove contaminating hydrazoic acid. The first synthesis was reported in 1905.
Decomposition to a nitrene is a first-order reaction:
CH3N3 → CH3N + N2
The product, like its notional tautomer methanimine, polymerizes at room temperature.
Methyl azide might be a potential precursor in the synthesis of prebiotic molecules via nonequilibrium reactions on interstellar ices initiated by energetic galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and photons.
Safety precautions
Methyl azide is stable at ambient temperature but may explode when heated. Presence of mercury increases the sensitivity to shock and spark. It is incompatible with methanol and dimethyl malonate. When heated to decomposition, it emits toxic fumes of NOx. It can be stored indefinitely in the dark at −80 °C.
References
External links
Graner, G.; Hirota, E.; Iijima, T.; Kuchitsu, K.; Ramsay, D. A.; Vogt, J.; Vogt, N. (1999). "CH3N3 Methyl azide". In Kuchitsu, K. (ed.). Group II Molecules and Radicals: Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology. Landolt-Börnstein - Group II Molecules and Radicals. Vol. 25 B. p. 1. doi:10.1007/10653318_320. ISBN 3-540-63645-5.
"Methyl azide". NIST Webbook. National Institute for Standards and Technology.
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Tabel kecepatan ledakan bahan peledak
- Kamus rumus kimia
- Methyl azide
- Carbon–nitrogen bond
- Ethyl azide
- Methyl phenylacetate
- Organic azide
- Click chemistry
- Nitrogen
- List of compounds with carbon number 1
- Curtius rearrangement
- Pauling's principle of electroneutrality
