Nitrogen Dioxide Mess

[PsyGuy304]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting and I know what I did was unsafe and I'm lucky to be alive and all projects are on hold until I have proper equipment and a better understanding of the whole process. That being said I got gold fever and rushed into putting to much nitric on gold plated copper pins in too small of jar and to top it off without fume hood. So that stinky brown gas that I thought was just bad for me showed itself on every piece of metal and electronics in the vicinity. I only noticed because it looks like they all started rusting. Is that just rust and if not is they a way to clean the metal tools back to stop the effect of the gas or is it permanently going to do that.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Yes, it's rust. Oxygen and moisture in the air cause iron to rust. Nitric acid vapors cause it to rust a LOT faster.

Store your experiment in a safe place away from people, pets, animals, etc.

Clean your affected tools and equipment. Give everything a light coating of oil.

Dave

 

[orvi]

Nitrogen oxides are very corrosive, toxic and carcinogenic. Do not panic, one exposure usually do not make it to the hospital and chemo, but you certainly need to be more careful. Chemicals aren´t joke or fun. You need to work at least outside, nowhere near buildings and people/animals. But fume hood is much better idea. Experimenting with nitric acid somewhere in neighborhood can cause you a lot of trouble since it is toxic gas evolving nearby places where people live.
Please be careful and read Tutorial and Safety sections of the forum.

 

[olawlor]

Any volatile acid, including the HNO3 or HCl used in refining, can make a mess of exposed metal surfaces nearby unless the acid is contained in a well-stoppered bottle.

That said, I've found HCl much more persistent. Ferric chloride (the product of HCl vapor acting on steel) seems to cycle oxygen into many metals, and will attack most grades of stainless:
https://www.materials.sandvik/en/materials-center/corrosion-tables/iron-iii-chloride/
Ferric nitrate will corrode mild steel, but in my experience doesn't seem to have as strong a catalytic effect in allowing atmospheric oxygen to attack nearby objects:
https://www.materials.sandvik/en/materials-center/corrosion-tables/iron-iii-nitrate/
I've found a thorough washing in hot soapy water will remove most of the corrosive salts from the metal, and then oil normally. This is more feasible for a hammer than a laptop though!

 

[PsyGuy304]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm grateful for the info regarding ferric nitrate as I was also using hcl and hydrogen peroxide, and had some aqua regia fumes hitting the same stuff. Good to know the tools are still salvageable but I guess the 70's TV studio camera insides are toast lol.

 

[Geo]

Are you doing this inside an enclosed area? Like a shop or garage? I hope it's not a structure that's connected to your home. Do this outside or inside a fume hood. If you are inside a structure, it's not just what's in the vicinity that's in danger. The wiring inside electrical receptacles, light switches and sockets, vehicles, lawn tools. Basically anything made of metal.