mabuse00 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) I wonder if anybody here has ever tried to get/make some himself for the sake of rocketry? This compound seems to be rather unusual, I found very little information.First idea would be something a la making a KOH or K2CO3 solution and neutralize it with salicylic acid, boil off the water... ...milling, making whistle fuel... Any thoughts/experiences? Edited June 7, 2014 by mabuse00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I wonder if anybody here has ever tried to get/make some himself for the sake of rocketry? This compound seems to be rather unusual, I found very little information.First idea would be something a la making a KOH or K2CO3 solution and neutralize it with salicylic acid, boil off the water... ...milling, making whistle fuel... Any thoughts/experiences? I acquired a sample of potassium salicylate more than twenty years ago (and yes, it does make a whistle). It is not a product of commerce so there is very little information about it in literature. My best recommendation is to dissolve the correct molar amount of potassium hydroxide or carbonate in the least amount of DI water. Next dissolve the corresponding molar amount of salicylic acid in the least amount of alcohol (it's more soluble in alcohol than water), and add the acid solution to the alkali solution slowly with stirring in a reaction vessel large enough to contain the reaction. Vacuum filter the precipitate and set aside to dry. Dry the filtrate in a crystallization dish over a water bath. I expect a total yield well over 90% of theoretical. When fully dry and powdered, use the potassium salicylate just as sodium salicylate is used. I suspect the potassium salt won't be as hygroscopic as sodium salts are. WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabuse00 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Thank you for your answer. I suspect the potassium salt won't be as hygroscopic as sodium salts are.Thats my hope. I also wonder if one can reach the same power as with the sodium salt.I will try it some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 (edited) Thank you for your answer.Thats my hope. I also wonder if one can reach the same power as with the sodium salt.I will try it some time. I have every reason to think it'll be at least as powerful as the sodium salt, and possibly more so. Definitely, experimentation is called for with it. WSM Edited June 19, 2014 by WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Respirator Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I have made both the Na and K salicylate salts (along with others) but havent used potassium salycilate for whistle yet. Salicylic acid is close to insoluble in water so you could use ethanol as the acid solvent as WSM mentioned above, but methanol and propan-2-ol also work well. For me personally, NaOH is much cheaper than KOH so I only made potassium salicylate once for organic synthesis (not rockets). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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