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Asked by anon-273972 on 15 Dec 2020.
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Sarah Smythe answered on 15 Dec 2020:
There are a few:
HF – also known as hydrofluoric acid! We use it to etch the surface of metals so we can see them better but if you were to get it on your skin, it can get to your bones and damage them! It’s really nasty and can kill you.
BuLi – known as butyllithium. This one isn’t that bad but when we use it, we have to make sure that there is nitrogen to replace what we take out of the bottle. If we took the lid off, the BuLi would react with the air and catch fire! So we have to use a balloon of nitrogen to stop air getting in!
Hydrazine – this is a component of rocket fuel! I had a student want to use this to make some new 2D materials but he had bought so much of it! I was very concerned because with the reaction he wanted to do, it could cause an explosion!
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Hugh Birkmyre answered on 16 Dec 2020:
The most dangerous chemical I normally work with is called hydroquinone. In small amounts it’s used in skin cream to make it whiter, but pure it can completely bleach your skin and give you vitiligo. It might also cause cancer.
A couple of other things which aren’t as interesting but still dangerous are nitrogen (which can suffocate you) and steam (burn you) which I use lots of. -
Kate Dobson answered on 16 Dec 2020:
I’m like Sarah – HF. Horrid stuff by needed to dissolve some of the volcanic crystals we use to date the Earth and volcanic activity
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Amy Rattenbury answered on 16 Dec 2020:
Luckily I don’t really work with any chemicals or other dangerous products!
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Katie Powell answered on 17 Dec 2020:
For me, it was Formaldehyde. This chemical is a ‘fixative’ – we used it to keep insect bodies in their original shapes when we would collect them from rivers to study them. It’s extremely toxic and you have to use something called a ‘fume cupboard’ when you use it, so that you don’t breathe in the fumes!
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