Hexanitrodiphenylamine (abbreviated HND), is an explosive chemical compound with the formula C₁₂H₅N₇O₁₂. HND was used extensively by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

but was discontinued due to its toxicity.

Preparation

Dinitrodiphenylamine is treated with 98%

nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...

. The starting material, dinitrodiphenylamine, is obtained from the reaction of

aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starti ...

, dinitrochlorobenzene, and soda ash.

Applications

HND is a booster-class explosive that was used in

by the

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as a component of

Hexanite Hexanite was a castable German military explosive developed early in the 20th century before the First World War for the Kaiserliche Marine, intended to augment supplies of trinitrotoluene (TNT), which were then in short supply. Hexanite is slight ...

(60% TNT - 40% HND) and by the Japanese as a component of Kongo (Type 98 H₂) (60%

Trinitroanisole Trinitroanisole is a chemical compound that exists as pale yellow crystals with a melting point of 68 °C. It is an explosive with a detonation velocity of 7200 meters per second.Wasag-Chemie, Essen. "Explosivstoffe". 1961, p. 164. Synthesis Trin ...

- 40% HND) for use in bombs, sea mines and depth charges; Seigate (Type 97 H) (60% TNT - 40% HND) for use in torpedo warheads and depth charges; and also in Otsu-B (60% TNT, 24% HND & 16% aluminium powder) for use in torpedo warheads. Its ammonium salt, also known as Aurantia or Imperial Yellow, was discovered in 1873 by

Emil Kopp Charles-Émile Kopp (3 March 1817 – 30 November 1875), France, French chemist, was born at Wasselonne, Alsace. He became in 1847 a professor of toxicology and chemistry at the École supérieure de Pharmacie at Strasbourg. Because of his partic ...

and used as a yellow colorant for leather, wool and silk in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Safety and toxicity

A most toxic and poisonous explosive, it attacks the skin, causing blisters which resemble burns. Dust from HND is injurious to the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and lungs. Several nitroaromatic explosives, including HND, have been found to be

mutagens In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations can cause cancer i ...

Incidents

On 12 May 2022, construction of the

Bundesautobahn 49 is a federal motorway running through north Hesse. It connects Kassel with the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, where it ends in Neuental. The motorway is planned to be extended to Gemünden (Felda) with a connection to A 5. Course A 49 splits ...

in Germany was halted, after traces of the explosive were found in the excavated material. The road passes over a former explosives factory near

Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Geography Location Under the German system of ''Naturräume'', Stad ...

. The factory had been demolished after World War II, and it was not expected that traces of explosives had remained in the ground.

References

* * *{{cite report, title=Japanese Explosives (USNTMJ-200E-0551-0578 Report 0-25) , publisher= U.S. Naval Technical Mission to Japan , date=December 1945

Preparation

Applications

Safety and toxicity

Incidents

References

See also