R. Meyer J. Köhler A. Homburg Explosives

Benzoyl Peroxide
Benzoyl Peroxide
Benzoylperoxid; peroxyde de benzoyle
colorless crystals
empirical formula: C14H10O4
molecular weight: 242.1
oxygen balance: –191.6%
melting and deflagration point: 107 °C = 225°F
impact sensitivity: 0.5 kp m = 5 N m
friction sensitivity: at 12 kp = 120 N pistil load
decomposition: at 24 kp = 240 N pistil load crackling
critical diameter of steel sleeve test: 10 mm
Benzoyl peroxide is sparingly soluble in water and alcohol, but soluble
in ether, benzene and chloroform. It can be prepared by reaction of
benzoyl chloride with sodium peroxide.
The explosion strength of the product is low, but its sensitivity relatively
high.
The organic peroxides serve as catalysts for polymerization reactions.
They must be wetted or phlegmatized (W Phlegmatization) for transportation
and handling.
Benzoyl peroxide can also be used as a bleaching agent for oils and
fats.
Bergmann-Junk Test
A method, developed by Bergmann and Junk in 1904, for testing the
chemical stability of nitrocellulose; it was also subsequently employed
for testing single-base powders. The test tube, which contains the
specimen being tested, and which is equipped with a cup attachment,
is heated at 132 °C = 270.4°F for two hours (nitrocellulose) or five
hours (single base powders). At the end of the heating period the
sample is extracted with water, and the test tube filled to the 50-ml
mark with the water in the cup. The solution is filtered, and the content
of nitrous oxides is determined by the Schulze-Tiemann method on an
aliquot of the filtrate.
The main disadvantage of the method is that nitrous compounds are
only incompletely absorbed in water, especially since the atmospheric
oxygen which has remained behind in the tube is expelled during
heating or is displaced by the carbon dioxide evolved at the powder
surface. Moreover, the results vary with the volume of the specimen
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