Ammonium permanganate
Encyclopedia
Ammonium permanganate is the chemical compound
NH4MnO4, or NH3
·HMnO4. It is soluble in water. It is a strong oxidizer, owing to its permanganate
anion, and it is a moderately strong explosive, owing to the combination of oxidizer permanganate anion and reducing ammonium
cation. Dry ammonium permanganate can detonate by heat, shock, or friction, and it may explode at temperatures above 140 °F (60 °C).
Ammonium permanganate decomposes explosively to manganese dioxide, nitrogen
, and water:
Ammonium permanganate was first prepared by Eilhard Mitscherlich
in 1824 by reaction of silver permanganate with equal molar amount of ammonium chloride
, filtering the silver chloride and evaporating the water. It can be also prepared in a similar way from barium permanganate and ammonium sulfate
.
Ammonium permanganate decomposes slowly in storage even at normal temperatures. A sample stored for 3 months was only 96% pure, after 6 months it assumed color of iodine and had strong smell of nitrogen oxides. It emits toxic fumes when decomposed by heat.
Quaternary ammonium permanganate compounds can be prepared, such as tetrabutylammonium permanganate.
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
NH4MnO4, or NH3
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
·HMnO4. It is soluble in water. It is a strong oxidizer, owing to its permanganate
Permanganate
A permanganate is the general name for a chemical compound containing the manganate ion, . Because manganese is in the +7 oxidation state, the permanganate ion is a strong oxidizing agent. The ion has tetrahedral geometry...
anion, and it is a moderately strong explosive, owing to the combination of oxidizer permanganate anion and reducing ammonium
Ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively charged polyatomic cation with the chemical formula NH. It is formed by the protonation of ammonia...
cation. Dry ammonium permanganate can detonate by heat, shock, or friction, and it may explode at temperatures above 140 °F (60 °C).
Ammonium permanganate decomposes explosively to manganese dioxide, nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, and water:
- 2 NH4MnO4 → 2 MnO2 + N2 + 4 H2O
Ammonium permanganate was first prepared by Eilhard Mitscherlich
Eilhard Mitscherlich
Eilhard Mitscherlich was a German chemist, who is perhaps best remembered today for his law of isomorphism , which states that compounds crystallizing together probably have similar structures and compositions...
in 1824 by reaction of silver permanganate with equal molar amount of ammonium chloride
Ammonium chloride
Ammonium chloride NH4Cl is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4Cl. It is a white crystalline salt that is highly soluble in water. Solutions of ammonium chloride are mildly acidic. Sal ammoniac is a name of natural, mineralogical form of ammonium chloride...
, filtering the silver chloride and evaporating the water. It can be also prepared in a similar way from barium permanganate and ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate , 2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen as ammonium cations, and 24% sulfur as sulfate anions...
.
Ammonium permanganate decomposes slowly in storage even at normal temperatures. A sample stored for 3 months was only 96% pure, after 6 months it assumed color of iodine and had strong smell of nitrogen oxides. It emits toxic fumes when decomposed by heat.
Quaternary ammonium permanganate compounds can be prepared, such as tetrabutylammonium permanganate.