The Tour of Collective Wisdom presents:
Pyrophoric and Explosive Reagents


Many lab fires and explosions are caused by the same few common reagents. The list below is provided to emphasize the dangers associated with working with these reagents. However, even if your reagent is not on this list, It could still cause a fire or explosion.

NEW: UCSD Instructional Videos - Working with Pyrophoric Reagents

Check out this pyrophorics bulletin

Also, this pyrophorics video

To keep accurate data, please come back and record each fire/explosion you witness.

Reagent:
This caused a fire This caused an explosion
Verification:
Reagent Number of eyewitnesses Have you witnessed?
sodium metal fires: 285 explosions: 83 fire explosion
lithium aluminum hydride fires: 282 explosions: 60 fire explosion
Pd/C fires: 296 explosions: 32 fire explosion
tert-butyllithium fires: 237 explosions: 5 fire explosion
sodium hydride fires: 222 explosions: 17 fire explosion
diethyl ether fires: 139 explosions: 19 fire explosion
n-butyl lithium fires: 130 explosions: 8 fire explosion
Potassium Metal fires: 101 explosions: 24 fire explosion
NaH (dry, oil free) fires: 104 explosions: 4 fire explosion
raney nickel (dry) fires: 96 explosions: 4 fire explosion
potassium hydride fires: 85 explosions: 7 fire explosion
trimethyl aluminum (neat) fires: 54 explosions: 5 fire explosion
Hydrocarbon/Aromatic Solvents fires: 47 explosions: 4 fire explosion
Et2Zn fires: 41 explosions: 4 fire explosion
Nitrogen triiodide fires: 1 explosions: 41 fire explosion
dimethylzinc fires: 37 explosions: 3 fire explosion
lithium metal fires: 34 explosions: 6 fire explosion
methyl/ethyl lithium fires: 27 explosions: 2 fire explosion
IBX (2-iodoxybenzoic acid) fires: 4 explosions: 21 fire explosion
palladium hydroxide (dry) fires: 22 explosions: 2 fire explosion
Calcium Hydride CaH2 fires: 14 explosions: 7 fire explosion
9-BBN (9-borabicyclononane) fires: 18 explosions: 1 fire explosion
NaK alloy fires: 15 explosions: 4 fire explosion
Potassium Chlorate fires: 9 explosions: 10 fire explosion
DIBALH (diisobutylaluminum hydride) fires: 15 explosions: 3 fire explosion
zinc powder fires: 16 explosions: 1 fire explosion
Hydrogen Peroxide fires: 5 explosions: 11 fire explosion
perchloric acid salts fires: 1 explosions: 15 fire explosion
sodium azide fires: 2 explosions: 13 fire explosion
DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) fires: 9 explosions: 4 fire explosion
Nitric acid/Organic waste fires: 3 explosions: 10 fire explosion
titanium tetrachloride fires: 2 explosions: 9 fire explosion
BH3-SMe2 fires: 10 explosions: 1 fire explosion
Diazomethane fires: 4 explosions: 6 fire explosion
Tollens reagent fires: 1 explosions: 7 fire explosion
TMSOOTMS (trimethylsilyl)2 ether fires: 3 explosions: 5 fire explosion
ozonide fires: 1 explosions: 7 fire explosion
propargyl bromide fires: 3 explosions: 5 fire explosion
Triflyl Azide (TfN3) fires: 1 explosions: 7 fire explosion
AlCl3 fires: 3 explosions: 5 fire explosion
mossy zinc fires: 6 explosions: 1 fire explosion
triallylborane fires: 6 explosions: 1 fire explosion
acetonitrile/NaOH fires: 4 explosions: 3 fire explosion
Sodium Amide (NaNH2) fires: 7 explosions: 0 fire explosion
Phosphorus oxychloride fires: 1 explosions: 6 fire explosion
sodium chlorite / sodium thiosulfate fires: 4 explosions: 2 fire explosion
palladium on alumina (dry state) fires: 5 explosions: 1 fire explosion
Thionyl chloride fires: 2 explosions: 4 fire explosion
1,1-dilithioferrocene fires: 5 explosions: 1 fire explosion
CO2Cl2 fires: 1 explosions: 5 fire explosion
Chromocene fires: 2 explosions: 4 fire explosion
lithium 2,6-difluoroanilide fires: 2 explosions: 4 fire explosion
dimethyl boron bromide fires: 2 explosions: 4 fire explosion
methyl lithium-lithium bromide fires: 5 explosions: 1 fire explosion
N-methyl-N-nitrosourea fires: 4 explosions: 2 fire explosion
trimethyl boron bromide fires: 0 explosions: 6 fire explosion
cochonnium fires: 2 explosions: 4 fire explosion
silver azide fires: 0 explosions: 6 fire explosion
Rh/alumina fires: 0 explosions: 5 fire explosion
sodium chlorite fires: 0 explosions: 5 fire explosion
bromosilane fires: 0 explosions: 5 fire explosion
iodobenzene diacetate fires: 0 explosions: 5 fire explosion
hypophosphorous acid anhydrous fires: 4 explosions: 0 fire explosion
4-fluoro-3-nitro-diazonium tetrafluorborate fires: 0 explosions: 4 fire explosion
Diacetyl peroxide fires: 0 explosions: 4 fire explosion
cyanation of quinoxaline via microwave reactor fires: 1 explosions: 3 fire explosion
dimethyl sulfoxide fires: 0 explosions: 4 fire explosion
Potassium tert-butoxide fires: 3 explosions: 1 fire explosion
phenyldiazonium perchlorate fires: 0 explosions: 3 fire explosion
print qq~