Chemical Substances And Materials Codexery

Nitrocellulose

Highly flammable compound used in explosives, photography, and lacquers.

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Nitrocellulose

Aleksander Sobolewski · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nitrocellulose is a nitrate ester of cellulose, not a nitro compound, produced by treating cellulose with a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids.[1][2] The material is highly flammable and can sustain combustion without external oxygen, making it a significant fire hazard.[3] Lacquers and coatings, explosives, and celluloid are the main applications for cellulose nitrate.[4]

Quick Facts

Field
  • Chemistry
  • Explosives
  • Photography
  • Coatings
Known for
  • Guncotton propellant
  • collodion photographic emulsion
  • nitrocellulose lacquers
  • flash paper
First major use
Replacement for gunpowder as propellant in firearms and as low-order explosive in mining
Key derivatives
  • Collodion
  • celluloid
  • flash paper
  • guncotton

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

In 1832 Henri Braconnot discovered that nitric acid combined with starch or wood fibers produced a combustible explosive he named xyloïdine.[5] In 1855, Alexander Parkes created the first human-made plastic, nitrocellulose branded Parkesine, patented in 1862.[6] In 1868, John Wesley Hyatt developed Celluloid by plasticizing nitrocellulose with camphor.[6] Kodak ceased production of nitrate 35 mm motion picture film in 1951.[7]

In his Basel home kitchen around 1846, German-Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein accidentally created a more workable version of nitrocellulose after a nitric and sulfuric acid mixture was spilled on a table.[8] John Hall & Son acquired the patent rights for guncotton production in 1846, and one year later a factory was built at Marsh Works in Faversham, Kent.[9] Nearly two dozen workers died in a serious explosion that July, leading to the plant's immediate shutdown.[9] Frederick Augustus Abel, a British chemist, patented the first safe method for manufacturing guncotton in 1865.[10]

Eastman Kodak products from August 1889 were the first to use nitrocellulose as a flexible film base.[11]

What the research sources say

Fordyce also notes that early safety film bases were much more expensive to manufacture and considerably less durable than nitrate.[12][13] The van Schil survey states that cellulose triacetate had the crucial advantage over nitrate of being no more of a fire risk than paper.[14][15] The BFI account notes that the BFI is currently the only UK organisation licensed to project nitrate film stock.[16] The same review indicates that explosive uses vary widely, and propellant applications generally require a higher nitrate content than coatings do.[17][4]

The Fordyce paper notes that from the start of the industry until the early 1950s, nitrate was the dominant material for professional 35 mm motion picture film.[12][13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Wildlife Toxicity Assessments for Chemicals of Military Concern", November 2024; ; Urbanski, "Chemistry and Technology of Explosives", Pergamon Press, 1965, p. 20–21 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "How to make flash paper and flash cotton from household products" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Interesting discussion on NC films.; The dangers of cellulose nitrate film (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Saunders, "A review of the synthesis, chemistry and analysis of nitrocellulose", Journal of Energetic Materials, 1990, p. 149–203 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Braconnot, "De la transformation de plusieurs substances végétales en un principe nouveau", Annales de Chimie et de Physique, 1833, p. 290–294; Pelouze, "Sur les produits de l'action de l'acide nitrique concentré sur l'amidon et le ligneux", Comptes Rendus, 1838, p. 713–715; Dumas, "Traité de Chimie Appliquée aux Arts", Bechet Jeune, 1843, p. 90 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nitrocellulose", Dow Chemical (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shanebrook, "Making Kodak Film", Robert L. Shanebrook, 2016, p. 82 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schönbein, "Lettre de M. Schoenbein à M. Dumas", Comptes Rendus, 1846, p. 27}} In a letter, he subsequently communicated his discovery to the French Academy of Sciences: * {{cite journal (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ponting, "Gunpowder: An Explosive History – from the Alchemists of China to the Battlefields of Europe", Random House, 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brown, "The Big Bang: A History of Explosives", Sutton Publishing, 1998, p. 132 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kodak Concern to Make Big Payment to Goodwin Company", The New York Times, March 27, 1914 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Charles R. Fordyce, "Improved Safety Motion Picture Film Support<!-- * -->", Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1948), doi:10.5594/j11731. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fordyce, "Improved Safety Motion Picture Film Support", Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, October 1948, p. 331–350 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  14. George J. van Schil, "The Use of Polyester Film Base in the Motion Picture Industry — a Market Survey", SMPTE Journal (1980), doi:10.5594/j00526. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Nitrocellulose" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Van Schil, "The Use of Polyester Film Base in the Motion Picture Industry — a Market Survey", SMPTE Journal, February 1980, p. 106–110 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  16. "All about... nitrate film", BFI, 26 August 2022. facts only, no text reused. bfi.org.uk
  17. C. William Saunders, "A review of the synthesis, chemistry and analysis of nitrocellulose", Journal of Energetic Materials (1990), doi:10.1080/07370659008012572. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Nitrocellulose (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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