BRAINCAKEUses of Nitration
Nitration is an important step in making many useful compounds. AQA highlights two uses: the manufacture of explosives and the formation of amines.
Explosives. Nitrating methylbenzene three times gives 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, better known as TNT. The three nitro groups contain oxygen and nitrogen, so when TNT is detonated it decomposes very rapidly into large volumes of hot gases, which produce the blast. TNT is stable enough to be handled and stored safely until it is set off by a detonator, which is why it has been widely used in mining, quarrying and demolition.
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More in Aromatic Chemistry
- The Delocalised Model of Benzene
- Evidence for Delocalisation - Enthalpy of Hydrogenation
- Naming Aromatic Compounds
- Electrophilic Substitution
- Nitration of Benzene
- Mechanism of Nitration
- Friedel-Crafts Acylation
- Mechanism of Friedel-Crafts Acylation
All 11 lessons in Aromatic Chemistry · All AQA A-level Chemistry topics