Alcohol, Base, and Available Chlorine: Three Factors Affect the Oxidation of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene to Trinitrobenzyl Chloride and Hexanitrobibenzyl
Ting Lu, Ming Lu · Journal of Energetic Materials · 2011
Trinitrobenzyl chloride and hexanitrobibenzyl can be prepared by the oxidation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene with sodium hypochlorite. Alcohol, base, and available chlorine are the three key factors that affect the oxidation. The reason why base led the production of trinitrobenzyl chloride and hexanitrobibenzyl with alcohol is explained and the mechanism of reaction is also discussed. Available chlorine reflected the oxidation capacity of sodium hypochlorite. Too low available chlorine cannot make 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene oxidize completely and produces many by-products.