Picric acid

Description

A yellow acid dye. Picric acid was prepared in 1771 by Woulfe by treating indigo with nitric acid. It was first used as a textile dye for wool and silk. Picric acid has poor washfastness and was replaced by naphthol dyes by the late 1800s.

Synonyms and Related Terms

CI 10305; carbazitic acid; 2,4,6-trinitrophenol; picronitric acid; melinite; acide picrique (Fr.); ácido pícrico (Esp., Port.)

Risks

• Flammable solid. Flash point = 150 C. Explosive at 300C.
• Harmful by ingestion, inhalation, and skin absorption.
• Fisher Scientific: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Soluble in water, ethanol, ether
• Composition

| C6H3(NO2)3O (mol. wt. = 229.11 g/ml)

• CAS = 88-89-1
• Melting Point = 122 C
• Density 1.77 g/ml

Resources and Citations

• A.Scharff, "Synthetic dyestuffs for textiles and their fastness to washing" in ICOM Preprints, Lyon, 1999. p.654-660.
• Wikipedia: Picric acid Accessed April 2026