ABSTRACT
CASRN: 88-89-1; DOT: 1344; DOT label: Class A explosive; molecular formula: C6H3N3O7; FW: 229.11; RTECS: TJ7875000; Merck Index: 12, 7562 Physical state, color, and odor: White to yellow crystals. Usually present in moist forms because dry picric acid is shock sensitive. Melting point (°C): 122-123 (Weast, 1986) Boiling point (°C): Sublimes and explodes >300 °C (Weast, 1986). Density (g/cm3): 1.763 (Windholz et al., 1983) Diffusivity in water (x 10-5 cm2/sec): 0.72 at 20 °C using method of Hayduk and Laudie (1974) Dissociation constant, pKa: 0.29 at 25 °C (Dean, 1973) Flash point (°C): 151 (NIOSH, 1997) Entropy of fusion (cal/mol⋅K): 10.4 (Farrell, et al., 1979) Heat of fusion (kcal/mol): 4.087 (Farrell et al., 1979) Octanol/water partition coefficient, log Kow: 2.03 (quoted, Verschueren, 1983) 1.34 (shake flask-GLC, Hansch and Anderson, 1967) Solubility in organics: In g/L: alcohol (83.3), benzene (100), chloroform (28.57), and ethyl ether (15.38) (Windholz et al.,
1983) At 25 °C (mM): cyclohexane (0.41), decane (0.42), dodecane (0.33), heptane (0.33), hexane
(0.30), hexadecane (0.39), and isooctane (0.25) (Fung and Higuchi, 1971)
66,670 at 100 °C (quoted, Windholz et al., 1983) 14,000 at 20 °C, 68,000 at 100 °C (quoted, Verschueren, 1983) Vapor pressure (mmHg): 1 at 197 °C (NIOSH, 1997) Environmental fate: Chemical/Physical. Picric acid explodes when heated >300 °C (Weast, 1986). Shock sensitive! (quoted, Keith and Walters, 1992). Exposure limits (mg/m3): NIOSH REL: TWA 0.1, STEL 0.3, IDLH 75; OSHA PEL: TWA 0.1; ACGIH TLV: TWA 0.1 (adopted). Symptoms of exposure: Contact with skin may cause sensitization dermatitis. Ingestion may cause severe poisoning. Toxic symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and yellow coloration of skin (Patnaik, 1992). Toxicity: In rabbits, the lethal dose is 120 mg/kg (quoted, RTECS, 1985). LC50 (48-h) for red killifish 513 mg/L (Yoshioka et al., 1986). Uses: Explosives, matches; electric batteries; in leather industry; manufacturing colored glass; etching copper; textile mordant; reagent.
