Detailed Description of the Synthesis of Acetone Peroxide

by unstable247

Acetone peroxide is one of the few explosives that can be quite easily made from materials that can be readily bought with no questions asked. For this reason, many young fools who know little about the chemistry of the reaction have attempted making it. With little knowledge on the topic, the chances of injury or death become much, much, higher. This is why I decided to make a detailed article going over the often overlooked fact of acetone peroxide. Hopefully this will help clear up the mistakes often found on inaccurate textfiles that can be found using a simple search engine, and provide an enjoyable experience with much less danger than usual.

NOTE: The information provided from this point on is strictly for informational purposes only. The production and use of acetone peroxide is illegal as well as very dangerous. I, the author, take no responsibility for how this information is used.

Acetone peroxide appears as a white powder to the unobservant eye. However, it is actually a crystalline compound. Acetone peroxide (or AP, as it will hereby be referred to as) can be ignited with a flame or spark, and will then deflagrate at an explosive rate. This deflagration produces hot gasses that are capable of bursting relatively strong containers, which makes it apparently a good explosive for firecrackers.

AP can also be detonated with a blasting cap. If a sufficient shockwave is sent through it (the shockwave needn’t be very powerful), the AP will detonate and therefore decompose at a significantly faster rate than when deflagration occurs. What this basically means is that, when detonated by a blasting cap, AP will explode much more powerfully.

The one main downfall of AP is its sensitivity. It is one the most sensitive explosives commonly manufactured. This downfall is the very reason that makes AP so dangerous, and is why so many of the “fools” that attempted making it have been badly injured, or even killed. A small amount of AP will detonate if tapped with a hammer on a hard surface. If stepped on it will go off under the weight of a human. The truth of the matter is, AP is no toy. It should be taken seriously before manufacture, during manufacture, and after manufacture.

Getting the Materials

There are three chemicals needed to make acetone peroxide. If searched for, one can often find them at common stores, at least in the US.

Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2

This is the easiest chemical to find that is needed in the AP reaction. If 27 or 30% hydrogen peroxide can be found, then it will produce higher yields when used. However, a change in the percentage will mean a change in the ratio, or amount used. The ratio involved uses 3% hydrogen peroxide, because of its availability. 3% hydrogen peroxide can be easily bought at any drug store, pharmacy, or local convenient store. It can be found in the medical aisle at Jewel. It’s used as an antiseptic for cleaning wounds. It typically sells for less than a buck a bottle, and one bottle is more than enough for two of the reactions described here. Remember, if you come across a different strength peroxide, it should only be used if you are good enough in chemistry to do the math and figure out which change in ratio will be correct.

Acetone CH3COCH3

Acetone is a colorless, volatile, extremely flammable liquid ketone. It is often used as an organic solvent, and is therefore available as a paint thinner. If you go to the paint section in your local hardware store, acetone can often be found in a metal container labeled “Acetone”. It is important to check the container to make sure that the contents are 100% pure acetone, since impurities can be horrible for the reaction. Acetone is the main ingredient in nail polish remover, but it’s not the only ingredient. So nail polish remover has impurities, which makes it a bad substitute for acetone in the AP process.

Sulfuric Acid H2SO4

Sulfuric acid will probably be the most difficult-to-find ingredient in the AP process. It is used as a catalyst in the reaction, helping to make acetone and hydrogen peroxide react upon each other to form acetone peroxide, without adding any elements to the reaction. Since it is just a catalyst, other acids, such as strong hydrochloric acid, can be used. However, for optimum results, 85% or stronger sulfuric acid is recommended. Car battery acid is typically around 40% sulfuric acid and often has lead impurities, so it’s not that good for this application. 90% or higher sulfuric acid can usually be found as a drain opener in some hardware stores. 93% H2SO4 can be found under the brand name “Pro Liquid Drain Opener” and is often available near other drain openers in hardware stores, some as well known as The Home Depot and Menards. Always check the ingredients of chemicals you buy to make sure they’re what you want.

You will also need a 600ml beaker, or similar glass container. You will also need a graduated cylinder, plastic or glass. It should go up to 50ml, unless you’re not using a beaker with measurements, in which case it should go up to about 100ml. You will definitely need an alcohol or mercury thermometer. It should have a Celsius scale that goes down to less than zero and goes up to more than 40. You will also need something to stir with. If you can get a glass stirring rod, then use that. If you cant get one, use the thermometer to stir. You definitely want something glass or wood, preferably glass. You don’t want plastic or metal, unless its plastic made for stirring chemistry mixtures. You’ll need a funnel, and some filter paper. A coffee filter works great.

Procedure:

1. Pour 500ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide into the beaker
2. Put the beaker in an ice bath (a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water, and often salt) until it cools to about 5 degrees Celsius. This might take awhile, but be patient.
3. Pour 60ml of acetone into the peroxide, and stir until thoroughly mixed. As a general rule of thumb, when using 3% hydrogen peroxide, you should use 5 times as much peroxide as acetone.
4. Measure out 15ml of acid. This is quite a bit, considering the other amounts, but through testing it has been found that more acid will catalyze more ingredients faster, and better. You can use as little as 5 or even 3ml, but to be safe, 15ml works great. Once you’ve got it measured out in the graduated cylinder (that should have a spout), pour the acid very slowly into the mixture, a couple drops at a time, while constantly stirring. The temperature of the mixture should never go above 10 degrees Celsius. If it gets to about 8 or 9 degrees C, stop pouring the acid and keep stirring until the temperature gets back to normal. Keep doing this until all the acid is in the mixture.
5. Keep stirring for about 5-10 minutes.
6. Then place the beaker (with the ice bath, if possible) into a refrigerator, making sure the temperature is kept below 10 degrees C. Keep it in there for 24-48 hours, the latter preferably. Stir periodically. After about 12-24 hours, you should start to see the mixture turn a kind of milky white, and there should be some shiny crystals on top. There might also be some precipitate on the bottom. Once you believe that precipitation is complete, take the beaker out of the fridge.
7. Now take the coffee filter, of filter paper. It should be a circle. Fold it in half once. You should have a semicircle. Now fold it in half again, getting a quarter circle. Look on the curved part of the quarter circle and split apart two of the layers, they should be one of the outside layer, and the one next to that. This should form a cone. Place this cone inside the funnel, and pour the mixture through it, and have the rest of the mixture go into a jar or a glass. Since filter paper and coffee filters are very fine, this could take awhile, but it will get every single particle in there, so it’s worth it. Dispose of the liquid in the jar. Then pour about 400 ml of distilled water over the crystals, to remove all remaining acid.
8. Leave these crystals somewhere indoors to air dry overnight.
9. The white powder in the filter the next morning should be tricycloacetone peroxide.

Now, some notes. The mixture must be kept below 10 degrees Celsius. If the crystals form at this temperature, it forms the isomer called tricycloacetone peroxide, which is relatively stable and safe to handle. If the crystals form above this temperature, the dimerric form, called dicycloacetone peroxide. This isomer is much more unstable, and could go off at the touch, making it not safe enough to be considered a practical explosive. As long as the temperature is kept below 10 degrees Celsius, then there is little to worry about. However, if the crystals are stored in a container with high walls for too long, then the AP will volatilize, then reform on the walls of the container. Remember, that when this reformation occurs, the temperature is well above 10 degrees Celsius. So the crystals that formed on the walls are actually the dimerric form, and are very dangerous. They need to be discarded as safely as possible. If the AP needs to be stored, it should be dampened with water, the stored in an airtight container.

Well, now you have yourself some acetone peroxide. What to do with it, you ask? Fortunately, there are some fun ways to use AP that are conveniently provided here.

AP Sandwiches

Take two nickels and put an amount of AP between them. Then take a strip of scotch tape, and stick it around the rims of the nickels; it should hang over on both sides. Take this overhang and push it down, so it sticks to the flat sides of the nickels. At all times, don’t push too hard on the nickels, unless you’re into missing fingers. But they can be pressed together kind of softly, without going off. Once they’re taped, throw the AP sandwich about 40-50 feet in the air, so it lands on concrete. When it hits, the AP will detonate, and a loud boom will be heard. They beat the pants off of snapdragons.

AP Putty

AP putty is a very powerful, castable explosive. To make it, mix acetone with double based smokeless powder (available at most gun shops). Mix the two until the smokeless powder dissolves, forming a pasty substance. Once the desired viscosity is achieved, start pouring some acetone peroxide into it. Pour quite a bit in there, so the ratio of paste to AP is about 1:1. Now you can cast this putty into any container, and wait for it to dry. Since acetone is so volatile, it shouldn’t take that long to dry out. Before it dries out, though, be sure to insert some sort of ignition device. A fuse works, as does a solar igniter. Anyway, once dried out and set off, this putty detonates both the AP and the smokeless powder. Seriously, this is God awful powerful stuff, considering its simplicity.

AP/AN Booster

If AP is mixed with ammonium nitrate, it can be used as an effective booster charge. The ratio usually used is about 3:1 AP to ammonium nitrate. This mixture is to be confined and detonated with a blasting cap (cool part is, the cap can be AP as well). This booster charge is powerful enough to detonate significant amounts of ANFO. Usually dynamite or TNT is used to detonate ANFO, but this booster is much easier to get by, and works. If a more powerful cap is used, then the ratio of AP to AN can near 1:1, as this will be more powerful, but more difficult to detonate.

THIS IS YOUR WARNING! Acetone peroxide is a very dangerous explosive meant to be handled by explosives experts. Tampering with it is playing Russian Roulette; there’s a very good chance you’ll get hurt or killed. By taking the proper precautions that were mentioned here, the chances of injury decrease greatly. So, think before you act, and be careful.