Q: So what is a Nitro-musk exactly?
A: It is a Musk ketone
The structure of the nitro group (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
To be a little more specific, let’s go through the history of it all… How does 1888 sound to you?
That is the year that the first artificial musk was obtained by a man named Albert Baur. He had condensed toluene with isobutyl bromide, aluminium chloride was a spectator iron (part of the reaction, but not really in it).
These three ingredients, for lack of a better word, are also known as the “Three Nitro Group” and a nitrating the product all make up nitro-musks.
The hilarious part of this story is that, it was discovered accidentally as a result of Baur’s attempts to produce a more effective form of trinitrotoluene (TNT).
The distinctive, and slightly “Gah” odor depends upon the symmetry of the three nitro group… Please don’t ask me to elaborate? Continue reading
That B Word 