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Nitrogen Triiodide
by Tetranitrate on August 10, 2006 Table of Contents Nitrogen Triiodide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Nitrogen Triiodide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Mix it up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Filter it out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 4 4 4

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

Author:Tetranitrate
I'm attending Polytechnic Institute of NYU.

Intro: Nitrogen Triiodide

.................................................................................................................................................................................. Odds are that you've seen a demonstration of this stuff before, most likely in your high school chemistry class. It is a highly sensitive contact explosive made from two ingredients ammonia and iodine crystals. It is so sensitive when dry it can be set off by a feather or even a fly. The last time I made this was years ago for a science project. It was the middle of winter and I had been setting off batches of this stuff in my backyard all day. When night fell it started lightly snowing, the snow flakes fell to the ground and set off minute traces of the NI3. The resulting snaps were loud enough to wake up my mom who then woke me up and told me to do something about it. I wasnt really sure what to do about it so I filled up a bucket of water and threw it out over the pavement, setting off hundreds of little snaps which each gave off tiny poofs of purple smoke. It has got to be one of the most surreal memories I have, being out in the moonlight while snowflakes gently floated down, causing the dead silence to be broken by little purple snaps going off everywhere. Heres the wiki for it nitrogen triiodide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_triiodide

Step 1: Materials
Iodine crystals. Can be bought on e-bay, unitednuclear.com, or http://shop.armorforensics.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RedWop&Product_Code=12805&Category_Code= That last one is a forensics website. Iodine crystals are used in a fingerprint lifting process called iodine fuming. As you can see on the label on the jar, the gas from the crystals has stained the paper to a dark purple color. Iodine gas is toxic, so do this experiment in a well ventilated area. Ammonia The purer the better. I use clear ammonia available almost anywhere. The store bought stuff is actually Ammonium hydroxide, meaning that it is ammonia dissolved in a ton of water. If for some reason you have access to highly concentrated ammonia the resulting nitrogen triiodide will be much more powerful, and therefore handled much more carefully. A tupperware container Coffee filters

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

Step 2: Mix it up
Fill the container up with enough ammonia to completely submerge any crystals you put in. Spoon in the crystals, I highly recommend using a very small amount of crystals the first time (pencil eraser sized) so if you accidentally set it off you have less of a chance of injury. Let the crystals sit for a few hours, I normally just leave them overnight and use them the next day. Overnight the nitrogen atoms from the ammonia will get it on with the iodine atoms and NI3 will result. I know what your thinking, nitrogen is a dirty for taking 3 iodine's at once, but who are you to judge, we've all done things were not proud of to make ends meet. You, now have the extremely unstable compound NI3. It is relitavely safe to handle while it is still wet, but that is no guarantee of anything, it has been known to go off while still damp. So from this point on be very cautious around it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

Step 3: Filter it out

Pour the ammonia container and iodine crystals through the coffee filter, and then quickly while it is still damp move the filtered crystals to where you want to set them off. It is not a good idea to do what I am doing in the picture and hold the coffee filter in your hand, I used water for the photos so it is not actual NI3 (it was raining outside, and I didnt want to have to deal with setting it off). Once the crystals are settled in their final resting place, wait for them to dry, which can vary from 30 min to a few hours. Use a long stick to set them off.

Related Instructables

StrikeAnywhere Firecrackers by chemguy

How to Make Iodine from Sulfuric acid and an Alkali Metal Iodide (video) by NurdRage

How to Make a Liquid Nitrogen Rocket (video) by kentchemistry.com

How To Purify Water Using Iodine Tincture by joshf

How to Test if Fertilizer Has Nitrates in it (video) by NurdRage

How to Make Super-Cool Frozen Party Cocktails with Liquid Nitrogen by ewilhelm

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 128 comments

winst_17 says:
Can we speed up the reaction of iodine crystals with amonium hydroxide by like, heating the mix?

Mar 25, 2011. 4:51 AM REPLY

Dr KAZ says:

Jul 9, 2009. 1:00 PM REPLY Unlike DANGEROUS explosives, this SAFE explosive (it is a high explosive), is not easy to make as the ingredients are not available at every corner shop. Try as you may, nothing but the pure stuff will work. It is best synthesized by using the method suggested by Tetranitrate although the limit of 1g iodine set by him is not the absolute safety limit. I have done this in 20g batches (in a fume cupboard). A batch may be rolled into a ball (using gloves) and set upon a high place (like a 7th storey library roof) to dry for a few hours (use a Buchner Funnel to separate your crystals). To set this baby off, just release it from whatever you are holding it with. The 2m diameter brown ring left behind sublimes in an hour (weather permitting). Please: Be safe, wear safety glasses, gloves and at least an apron when playing with chemicals. NEVER play alone.

emcelhannon says:
"Nothing but the pure stuff will work." With pure Iodide crystals, will the store bought amonium hydroxide work?

Jul 9, 2010. 8:06 AM REPLY

Dr KAZ says:
Add this:

Dec 11, 2009. 11:46 AM REPLY

I regularly hold "explosion chemistry" workshops for students. I take the utmost care not to ever injure anyone. However, during one of my workshops, a student held 0.5g of nitrogen triiodide on a sheet of paper, outside, in open air and was blown off his feet when a gust of wind blew the sheet of paper holding the explosive against his chest. He wore a lab coat, safety glasses and had long pants and closed shoes to aid in his protection. A sense of humour also aided in both of us coming frrom the experiment without any harm.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

EMPHASIS: If you know how stuff works, be even more carefull than when you do not have a clue. AND: Rather play with this than try to synthesize other lethal compounds of which you know nothing of.

mettaurlover says:
What about making this stuff by the pound in small containers designed to strain out the liquid?

Dec 9, 2009. 3:22 PM REPLY

Dr KAZ says:

Dec 9, 2009. 10:30 PM REPLY Could be possible, I'd scale it up slowly though. Remember, the crystals must be completely dry in order to detonate. That might prove technically difficult in some sort of sealed container. You'd also want to speak to your bank manager as iodine is not exactly the cheapest material around. Nonetheless, it is a viable idea.

mettaurlover says:

Dec 10, 2009. 7:03 AM REPLY True, but I know people. And I wouldn't actually need very much of the stuff. Juse using a film canister as the container, then carefully lidding it when it's dry after otherwise draining liquids.

mazeka.14 says:
is there any way to make this stuff less sensitive so you could say, throw it??

Dec 9, 2008. 5:03 PM REPLY

genesis357 says:

Apr 17, 2009. 7:30 PM REPLY well nitroglycerin is a sensitive explosive, and all the original dynamite was stabilized nitroglycerin. i would guess yes. maybe when the NI3 is in it's liquid stage, add flower or sawdust to soak it up. that's exactly how nitroglycerin use to be stabilized.

mazeka.14 says:
cool, im gonna have to try that

May 29, 2009. 11:59 AM REPLY

shawneegeek says:

Jan 15, 2010. 7:16 AM REPLY Be careful if you do, because the military has looked into this and found it had no useful application just because of how unstable it is. It's been recorded that slight gusts of wind can set this stuff off.

the_anaconda says:
would I be able to use iodine tablets like the ones used to purify water?

Jun 4, 2008. 8:24 PM REPLY

shawneegeek says:

Jan 15, 2010. 7:13 AM REPLY No, those water purification tabs don't work. I tried it with the old ones even, before they switch to binary ingredents, and it still didn't work. But you can get iodine from walgreens that works.... hope this helps ya out, be safe.

genesis357 says:
I don't think that;s the right type of iodine. not sure though.

May 29, 2009. 6:30 PM REPLY

Alpha Bravo says:

Sep 21, 2010. 11:35 PM REPLY The iodine in water purifying tablets is usualy potassium iodide or a similar compound (which wouldn't react with the ammonia). But fear not the iodine can be extracted to crystals by reacting with acid. This can be very dangerous if done incorectly (producing clouds of iodine and acid gas; toxic AND corrosive :| ). I would recomend following this vid if you still want to do it; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYMZKgn9pE

mettaurlover says:

Dec 9, 2009. 3:20 PM REPLY I have a simple idea for a safer way to set this stuff off. I may post an 'ible on it once I've had a chance to test it out. It could also be used quite easily in a grenade.

Dr KAZ says:

Dec 11, 2009. 11:25 AM REPLY "It could also be used quite easily in a grenade." It is glaringly obvious that you have never synthesized even a mg of this compound. Learn to respect chemicals before you attempt making gram quantities of high explosives, or any other chemical compound not found at the corner store, for that matter. Please, should you try anything with this, rather consult the "old man" - I'd gladly help out with instructions, even send you the stuff, if you agree to be careful.

mettaurlover says:
I was talking about my way of setting it off, not about the actual substance being used in a grenade.

Dec 11, 2009. 1:42 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

jam BD says:
Wow ha ha ha soooooooo dangerous =D

Oct 21, 2009. 2:22 PM REPLY

canno says:
can i get this in Hong Kong cause i want to test out an idea with this stuff

Feb 12, 2008. 4:08 PM REPLY

Pbyrd says:
What idea are you talking about?

May 9, 2008. 3:40 PM REPLY

canno says:
the impact smoke bomb

May 13, 2008. 6:27 PM REPLY

eskimojo says:

Sep 12, 2008. 6:30 PM REPLY I think that this wouldn't work very well. The reaction is too fast in order to create enough smoke for a smoke bomb. Maybe you can find a way to use it as something along the lines of a percussion cap? Smoke bombs generally need a slow "cool" burn in order to generate enough smoke to be effective.

ItsTheHobbs says:
But, if you used a kno3 mixture, and used a small amount of this for ignition...

Jan 3, 2009. 1:56 PM REPLY

Jaycub says:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Impact_FuseExploding_Arrow/

Oct 9, 2009. 3:22 PM REPLY

ItsTheHobbs says:
Cool!

Oct 9, 2009. 4:16 PM REPLY

genesis357 says:
NI3 won't produce enough heat to ignite a smoke bomb.

Apr 17, 2009. 7:25 PM REPLY

ItsTheHobbs says:
oh.

Apr 17, 2009. 7:47 PM REPLY

genesis357 says:

Apr 18, 2009. 7:52 AM REPLY If you watch a NI3 detonation in slow motion, you will notice no flame. It's a good idea though. But NI3 doesn't really burn, it just decomposes rapidly.

eskimojo says:

Jan 3, 2009. 4:28 PM REPLY Read up a little and it seems that the reason this is basically just a chemistry classroom trick is that Nitroglycerine can use a "phlegmatizer" in order to adjust the sensitivity of it, nitrogen triiodide however doesn't take so well to them. Jan 3, 2009. 4:24 PM REPLY truthfully, you could... depending on how hot the explosion is. I would probably use Potassium chlorate though, if I could get my hands on some. And by the sounds of it, smoke bombs are actually quite easy to make. You might even be able to make do mostly with kitchenfound items. Using this would still be foolhardy, it's far too sensitive. Technically you could do it, but you wouldn't even be able to get the mixture in a container, you'd have to set up a "smoke pile." It would be a mess and you'd be better off trying to use something else as a starting element.

eskimojo says:

bowmaster says:
Looks like mold. High explosive mold.

Jun 23, 2009. 10:28 AM REPLY

minerug says:
Does a paste form in the bottom, or just soggy crystals?

Jun 12, 2009. 4:45 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

Jollyrgr says:
COMMENT TO AUTHOR: Please add a disclaimer to wear saftey glasses, and gloves while playing with this stuff.

Feb 28, 2007. 7:47 PM REPLY

Tetranitrate says:
COMMENT TO JOLLYRGR: No, if you don't know the SOP for handling chemicals you shouldn't be attempting this.

Mar 2, 2007. 2:19 PM REPLY

jpoopdog says:

May 17, 2009. 10:22 PM REPLY does liquid iodine work the same or must it be solid because i cant get iodine crystals/powder only iodine powder already dissolved in alchohol btw cloudy ammonia contains soap and soap as you know is slippery even when dry , and also as you know nitrogen triiodide is friction sensitive mix that with soap and its pretty much useless btw again can i evapourate the iodine solution to make powder and also can you get the soap out of the cloudy ammonia warning the government is slowly eradicating clear ammonia from grocery stores because they know that nitrogen triiodide can be made with it sorry this is so long but can you evapuorate cloudy ammonia into another bottle and will it pickup the ammonia in the vapure or will it be left behind with the soap as a salt?

Wooginator says:

Feb 19, 2009. 11:29 AM REPLY I was wondering, is the liquid that is strained out explosive as well? I ask because, while poking crystals to make them go boom is fun, painting an explosive substance onto something, letting it dry and then setting it off would be a lot more fun. For instance, arrows with the tips coated in NI3.

flatcurve says:
NI3 is way too sensitive to use on exploding projectiles. It will blow up in your hands.

Mar 10, 2009. 1:50 PM REPLY

Jaycub says:
I'd like to refer you to my instructable on exploding arrows: http://www.instructables.com/id/Impact_FuseExploding_Arrow/

Mar 3, 2009. 8:06 PM REPLY

The explosion makes a good sized fire ball inside the smoke, but the video didn't catch it because it only lasts a split second.

the_anaconda says:
Hey i was just wondering if this would work with liqiud iodine?

Jun 16, 2008. 10:36 AM REPLY

zvillesurfer says:

Dec 21, 2008. 4:50 PM REPLY yes you can. liquid iodine is just iodine dissolved in something else. you can evaporate the solvent and you end up with iodine crystals. be careful though because i dont know what the solvent is so it may be flammable or dangerous to breathe.

cheesynerd says:
even if there was such a thing, it wouldn't work because it would most likely all drain through the coffee filter.

Aug 3, 2008. 10:38 AM REPLY

mr.space says:

Dec 28, 2008. 6:52 AM REPLY for starters, there is such a thing, iodine dissolved in a solvent. and it woold be possible to put the 2 liquids in a beaker, let the reaction take place, then put it through a coffee filter

crazyboy says:

Jul 21, 2008. 5:04 PM REPLY There is no such thing as liquid iodine, iodine is solid at room temp and will sublimate at higher temps. Tincture solutions contain iodine but very little.

the_anaconda says:
so like those little bottles that say iodine that is filled with a liquid that is iodine is really iodine?

Aug 23, 2008. 8:46 PM REPLY

DrCoolSanta says:
That probably is Tincture. A mixture of alcohol and iodene used on wounds.

Aug 25, 2008. 6:15 AM REPLY

mazeka.14 says:
some web site sell the plans for this stuff for $15 Tetra, you are awesome :-)

Dec 9, 2008. 5:00 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/

duct tape says:

Too bad the terrorists don't use this....

Apr 10, 2008. 4:10 PM REPLY

twenglish1 says:
they probably do

Jun 12, 2008. 5:32 PM REPLY

eskimojo says:

Sep 12, 2008. 5:58 PM REPLY doubt it, it would be safer, cheaper, and more readily available to create compounds or have pre-made and possibly stolen compounds. duct tape Why would you say such a thing as "too bad the terrorists don't use this..." ? Really.

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Nitrogen-Triiodide/