While adding palladium on activated charcoal (Pd/C) to any organic solvent (in this case methanol) the highly active catalyst could easily cause fire.

Sevaral hydrogenation catalyst, including palladium on carbon and raney nickel containing adsorbed hydrogen are pyrophoric, particularly when dry, therefore they should be handled with care and should be handled and disposed of according to standard protocols.



But what to do if the catalyst caused a fire and the solvent is burning in the flask?! Easy: DON’T PANIC, place a watch glass or a Petri dish on the flask and wait till the absence oxygen ends the problem.

Another method to avoid fire is to generate an oxygen free atmosphere by purging the flask with nitrogen or argon. If there is no oxygen, there is no problem(:

9:30 pm • 6 August 2016 • 230 notes • View comments