Acetone peroxide

Names IUPAC names

3,3-Dimethyl-1,2-dioxacyclopropane(monomer)
3,3,6,6-Tetramethyl-1,2,4,5-tetraoxane (dimer)
3,3,6,6,9,9-Hexamethyl-1,2,4,5,7,8-hexaoxacyclononane (trimer)
3,3,6,6,9,9,12,12-Octamethyl-1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11-octaoxacyclododecane (tetramer)

Other names

Triacetone triperoxide
Peroxyacetone
Mother of Satan

Identifiers

CAS Number

1336-17-0

3D model (JSmol)

dimer: Interactive image
trimer: Interactive image

ChemSpider

3582942

E numberE929 (glazing agents, ...)

PubChemCID

4380970

UNII

62T938ZGDD

CompTox Dashboard(EPA)

DTXSID80158194

InChI

InChI=1S/C9H18O6/c1-7(2)10-12-8(3,4)14-15-9(5,6)13-11-7/h1-6H3
Key: ZTLXICJMNFREPA-UHFFFAOYSA-N
InChI=1/C9H18O6/c1-7(2)10-12-8(3,4)14-15-9(5,6)13-11-7/h1-6H3
Key: ZTLXICJMNFREPA-UHFFFAOYAS

SMILES

dimer: CC1(C)OOC(C)(C)OO1
trimer: CC1(C)OOC(C)(C)OOC(C)(C)OO1

Properties

Chemical formula

C₆H₁₂O₄ (dimer)
C₉H₁₈O₆ (trimer)
C₁₂H₂₄O₈ (tetramer) Molar mass148.157 g/mol (dimer)
222.24 g/mol (trimer)
296.296 g/mol (tetramer) Appearance White crystalline solid Melting point131.5 to 133 °C (dimer)
91 °C (trimer) Boiling point97 to 160 °C (207 to 320 °F; 370 to 433 K)

Solubility in water

Insoluble Hazards GHS labelling:

Pictograms

NFPA 704 (fire diamond)

1

4

Explosive data Shock sensitivityHigh/High when wet Friction sensitivityHigh/moderate when wet Detonation velocity5300 m/s at maximum density (1.18 g/cm), about 2500–3000 m/s near 0.5 g/cm
17,384 ft/s
3.29 miles per second RE factor0.80

Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

verify ( ?)

Acetone peroxide ( also called APEX and mother of Satan) is an organic peroxide and a primary explosive. It is produced by the reaction of acetone, hydrogen peroxide and a strong acidic catalyst to yield a mixture of linear monomer and cyclic dimer, trimer, and tetramer forms. The monomer is dimethyldioxirane. The dimer is known as diacetone diperoxide (DADP). The trimer is known as triacetone triperoxide (TATP) or tri-cyclic acetone peroxide (TCAP). Acetone peroxide takes the form of a white crystalline powder with a distinctive bleach-like odor when impure, or a fruit-like smell when pure, and can explode powerfully if subjected to heat, friction, static electricity, concentrated sulfuric acid, strong UV radiation, or shock. Until about 2015, explosives detectors were not set to detect non-nitrogenous explosives, as most explosives used preceding 2015 were nitrogen-based. TATP, being nitrogen-free, has been used as the explosive of choice in several terrorist bomb attacks since 2001.