From: glhurst@onr.com (Gerald L. Hurst)
Newsgroups: rec.pyrotechnics
Subject: Re: Questions about nitryl fluoride
Date: 17 Nov 1995 09:11:10 GMT
Organization: Consulting Chemist
Lines: 17

In article <DI5qst.6FM@freenet.carleton.ca>, cc515@FreeNet.Carleton.CA
(Max Page) says:

>I have recently come across a reference to nitryl fluoride as an explosive
>substance (gas). Anyway I'm a little confused as to its "explosive"
>properties. Is it simply a flammable gas like acetylene, or is it actually
>an explosive substance?

I don't believe it is explosive per se, but it is a powerful oxidizer
and a very nasty substance. If you mixed it with an organic
material (at low temperature) you probably wouldn't need a
blasting cap to blow up the lab. N2O4 readily dissociates
into two NO2 radicals to a great extent at room temperature.
These NO2 radicals readily attach themselves to either chlorine
or fluorine on contact with the elements. NO2Cl is a well-known
nitrating agent. 


Jerry