Methyl azide is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon- hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. Th ...

with the formula . It is a white solid and it is the simplest

organic azide An organic azide is an organic compound that contains an azide (–) functional group. Because of the hazards associated with their use, few azides are used commercially although they exhibit interesting reactivity for researchers. Low molecular w ...

Preparation and properties

Methyl azide can be prepared by the

methylation In the chemical sciences, methylation denotes the addition of a methyl group on a substrate, or the substitution of an atom (or group) by a methyl group. Methylation is a form of alkylation, with a methyl group replacing a hydrogen atom. These t ...

of sodium azide, for instance with

dimethyl sulfate Dimethyl sulfate (DMS) is a chemical compound with formula (CH3O)2SO2. As the diester of methanol and sulfuric acid, its formula is often written as ( CH3)2 SO4 or Me2SO4, where CH3 or Me is methyl. Me2SO4 is mainly used as a methylating agen ...

in alkaline solution, followed by passing through a tube of anhydrous

calcium chloride Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide. Cal ...

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic base and alkal ...

to remove contaminating

hydrazoic acid Hydrazoic acid, also known as hydrogen azide or azoimide, This also contains a detailed description of the contemporaneous production process. is a compound with the chemical formula . It is a colorless, volatile, and explosive liquid at room tem ...

. The first synthesis was reported in 1905. It decomposes in a first-order reaction: : Methyl azide might be a potential precursor in the synthesis of prebiotic molecules via nonequilibrium reactions on

interstellar ice Interstellar ice consists of grains of volatiles in the ice phase that form in the interstellar medium. Ice and dust grains form the primary material out of which the Solar System was formed. Grains of ice are found in the dense regions of molecular ...

s initiated by energetic

galactic cosmic rays Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...

(GCR) and photons.

Safety precautions

Methyl azide is stable at ambient temperature but may explode when heated. Presence of mercury increases the sensitivity to shock and spark. It is incompatible with methanol and

dimethyl malonate Dimethyl malonate is a diester derivative of malonic acid. It is a common reagent for organic synthesis used, for example, as a precursor for barbituric acid. It is also used in the malonic ester synthesis. It can be synthesized from dimethoxymeth ...

. When heated to decomposition, it emits toxic fumes of . It can be stored indefinitely in the dark at −80 °C.

References

External links

* * {{Azides Organoazides Explosive chemicals Substances discovered in the 1900s