2012-08-20
[public] 52.2K views, 539 likes, 6.00 dislikes audio only
Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Aniline - part of our "Berzelius Day" uploading 24 videos in 24 hours. Full video containing this reaction at: /youtube/video/bin_W1xVPfY
NOTE FROM THE PROFESSOR: This is the reaction of aniline, C6H5NH2, with N2O4. The products are N2, H2O and CO2. The reaction is violent because N2O4 has a very weak N-N single bond while N2 has a very strong N-N triple bond. The formation of C=O bonds in CO2 releases further energy. This reaction was discovered at Nottingham about sixty years ago; rumour has it that the student who discovered it was injured in the process!
See our 24 reactions playlist as it unfolds at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6E4F35510525FFF7
Berzelius Day explained: /youtube/video/wDXUDq2KLM4
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From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry/index.aspx
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