Good and bad chemical smells, list yours

[GutZ 109]

Huh? Sr or even the oxide or Hydroxide has no smell!?

 

in fact I would go so far as to say that NON of the metal elements have a smell exactly (nor their oxides)' date=' the NON metal elements can certainly be VERY smelly as Oxides however (or even as the element itself).[/quote']

 

Maybe just plain irriation.

 

Small particle matter is maybe making it's way into my noise because when it reacts with the air it turns powder like. If I assume thats the oxide, it kicks you in the face all of a sudden which I assume is from the smell, and it's only with that element (...well Al-Sr90). You can't see it clouding though.

 

I wear a mask now so I can't recall so well.

[woelen 18]

Well, I must say that metals CAN have a smell. I don't know what causes the smell, but it definitely exists. Try rubbing a copper coin with your fingers and then smell your fingers. Do the same with iron objects.

Also non-volatile salts of metals can have a smell. Dip your finger in a solution of FeSO4 and let it dry. Then smell your finger. Same smell as when you manipulate some iron objects.

Also if you count money, then you'll certainly notice the smell on your hands after you have done that.

 

For me, these metallic smells are not unpleasant, nor pleasant. They just are there.

 

But I agree with YT, that dry metal salts and also the dry metals, are odorless. The smells I describe only appear when the metal or its salts are rubbed with your hands.

[aj47 11]

Metals also have a distinctive taste which I think is quite nice and is why I have a bad habit of absent mindedly suck spoons for hours on end.

[noel 10]

limonene is the best smelling chemical i can find in my lab

[warut 10]

Here is how we can smell metals:

 

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061023/full/061023-7.html

[raptor 10]

What is the cause of the strong 'metallic' smell in the air after metal has been cut?

[warut 10]

Probably the same mechanism, metal dust falls on your body (skin) and creates those ketones. Also, see

 

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19225754.400

[raptor 10]

Very interesting, thanks.

[malumunus 10]

does anyone know what titanium dioxide and nitrogen smells like?

I'm using it for my experiment so i hope it doesn't smell too bad

[woelen 18]

Both TiO2 and N2 are odorless.

[chem1a 10]

good

ethanoic acid (GAA)

most esters

toluene/xylene

acetone

 

Bad

Benzyl chloride

chlorine

formic acid

[RyanJ 34]

I wish I could make dithiol or 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one because apparently one of those is potentially the smelliest substance ever. I don't think I'd go through with it though; the stuff would linger for too long

[John Cuthber 3830]

"in fact I would go so far as to say that NON of the metal elements have a smell exactly (nor their oxides), "

YT2095, you might wish to look up the origin of the name "osmium" though I grant that it's unusual.

[jdurg 31]

"in fact I would go so far as to say that NON of the metal elements have a smell exactly (nor their oxides), "

YT2095, you might wish to look up the origin of the name "osmium" though I grant that it's unusual.

 

Hehe. I was just about to say the same thing.

[chemhelper 10]

(E)-2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol....aka skunk:-)

 

http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/chemofskunkspray.html

 

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[Bluenoise 10]

OMG I completley forgot about this thread.

Anyone ever use SybrSafe?

 

There's nothing quite like the small of freshly cooked warm SybrSafe and agarose coming out of the microwave mnnnnnn.

(though I rather doubt anyone knows what i'm talking about....)

[TATER 10]

Brand new tires and new shoes are the best smells, but chlorine is a very gross smell to me

[scipHun 10]

Well...as far as good smells go....benzaldehyde smells pretty good...and we just used...hmmm.....I can't remember it now...it was a nitrogen reagent...aha! tricaprylmethylammonium chloride or aliquat 336. It smelled bad. In organic lab we're doing a convergent synthesis of hexaphenylbenzene.

 

Other smells I like, leather, specifically that around horses. And new cans of tennis balls.

[nitric 22]

good: bromine,triethly citrate,octane,benzene,iodine,sulfur,natuaral gas,ozone

 

bad:acatic acid,paper dissolving in conc. H2S04,terrilium breath,DMS.

[hermanntrude 175]

worst chemical smell i remember is phenyl cyanide, or benzonitrile. Smells like almonds and death.

 

Most amusing smell, piperidine... smells just like semen

[Ladeira 16]

good: ethanol.

bad: hexene, etil acetate, orcein...

[dessum 10]

hmmm piperidine smells like semen??...hmmm doing an organic project to synthesise piperine and we're using piperidine this'll be interesting :S

 

Worst smell ever that has entered my nose has to be triethyl phosphite...i cringe at that smell. the smell is just disgusting

[hermanntrude 175]

I think it was piperidine, anyway... I can't remember for sure. I blanked a lot of it out... I was a first year pHd student and opened a bottle, and as the smell wafted around, one of the postdocs said "hermann, have you farted?" I never quite got over it.

[flarn2006 10]

Iron(III) chloride (PCB etchant) and potassium nitrate both smell bad. And copper sulfate, kind of.

(KNO3 and CuSO4 only smell when there's a whole lot of it, like in the container it comes in.)

[John Cuthber 3830]

Iron(III) chloride (PCB etchant) and potassium nitrate both smell bad. And copper sulfate, kind of.

(KNO3 and CuSO4 only smell when there's a whole lot of it, like in the container it comes in.)

 

How come you can list two compounds that are not volatile and one that's barely volatile?