TETRAETHYLAMMONIUM PERCHLORATE

Application

Tetraethylammonium perchlorate plays a crucial role as a supporting electrolyte in polarographic measurements. This white crystalline solid is noted for its water solubility and potential reactivity, as it can explode when subjected to heat, shock, or friction. Being an oxidizing agent, tetraethylammonium perchlorate readily reacts with reducing agents, resulting in the generation of heat and potentially gaseous byproducts, which can contribute to the pressurization of confined spaces. These products might further react, possibly leading to combustion in air. The rapid or explosive reduction of such compounds typically requires an initiating factor like heat, a spark, a catalyst, or the presence of a solvent. Even without initiation, mixtures of inorganic oxidizing agents and reducing agents can remain stable over time. This stability often involves solid-state combinations but can encompass different physical states. Inorganic oxidizing agents, such as this one, may come in forms that are soluble metal salts in water; while solubility dilutes their oxidizing strength, it does not fully eliminate it. Organic compounds have varying degrees of reducing power, depending on their specific identities, and can potentially react with compounds like tetraethylammonium perchlorate. Moreover, these inorganic oxidizers can engage violently with substances like active metals, cyanides, esters, and thiocyanates, with materials such as benzene, calcium hydride, charcoal, ethanol, finely divided metals, olefins, strontium hydride, and sulfur reacting particularly strongly with perchlorates.