Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 16:37:14 -0400
Reply-To: ILPI <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: ILPI <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM>
Subject: Re: Safety Protocols for use of Nickel Carbonyl in Academic
research Lab
Comments: cc: David Bunzow
In-Reply-To: <038801c805f5$bc4e8cd0$34eba670$**At_Symbol_Here**bunzow**At_Symbol_Here**ndsu.edu>

>Colleagues,
>
>I'm hoping that one or more of you are willing to share with me your SOPs
>for use of this material.
>
>David A. Bunzow
>Manager of Research Services
>North Dakota State University
>Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering
>1805 NDSU Research Park Drive North  (Room 102U)
>Fargo, ND 58102
>Office:  (701) 231-7323
>Cell:  (701) 793-1744
>FAX:  (701) 231-5306
>E-mail: david.bunzow**At_Symbol_Here**ndsu.edu

Contact a manufacturer for specific protocols.  Here's the MSDS from 
Matheson TriGas: http://www.mathesontrigas.com/pdfs/msds/MAT16290.pdf

As an organometallic chemist, I used to mention this particular 
compound in my lectures.  The vapor density of Ni(CO)4 is 
approximately 6 (air = 1).  So even with a good fume hood, the vapors 
can pool in the floor of the hood and flow onto the floor.  I once 
saw an MSDS that said the best way to work with it was in an open 
field and to stand upwind.

If you're using it in a flow system inside a hood, the protocol 
should employ some sort of scrubber on the system outlet.  Ni(CO)4 
reacts with phosphines to yield (non-volatile) nickel complexes of 
the formula Ni(CO)4-x(L)x where L = the phosphine ligand.  These are 
classic reactions in Inorganic chemistry and much information can be 
found in the literature.  Thermal decomposition is also a good way to 
decompose this material (it falls apart around 200 C).

  Any number of papers that have used Ni(CO)4 over the years probably 
describe their scrubber systems.  Send your researcher off to his 
computer terminal or the library to look them up.

As a total aside, nickel tetracarbonyl was discovered by Mond in 
1899.  It was reported to have a "musty odor".  We organometallic 
chemists like to joke that Mond managed to scrawl "musty odoo" in his 
lab notebook before collapsing dead, but in actuality he died in 1909 
at the age of 70: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mond

Regards,

Rob Toreki
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