NileRed - 2014-03-31
In this video, I will be showing you how to dissolve cotton (cellulose) using Schweizer's Reagent. I will then reconstitute the dissolve cotton.
I have no clue why I am watching these videos and I'm 100% sure I'll never do any of this but I just can't stop....
Just checked out some of your videos, that was a lot.
I want to but I can’t I don’t think my parents would be okay with me say making alcohol out of toilet paper 🧻 or making plasma in the microwave
Sameeeeeeee I watch his videos when I’m headed to bed and end up binge watching them but i don’t need to know how to make meds from batteries or grape soda from gloves😂
@Leonel Jace I am trying it out right now. Seems promising :)
"Sorry prof, i accidentally dropped my lab assinment into the schweizers reagent..."
It could be used as an evil prank if you add it to washing machine.
@***** lol, yeah, makes sense.
DaffyDaffyDaffy33322 i literally hand wash my socks and underwear because of that
@Ryan Amberger Epstein knew the secrets and then he didn't kill himself.
@trav v you are a blessing
No
It's nice to see Nigel improve over the years. He gets so much more comfortable on camera and by 2018 he's just having a blast doing what he loves for a living. Wish I had more hands to clap with.
Is that his real name?
Yep, it's Nile's name!
Was just thinking the same thing, I almost didn't realize this was him because he's normally so animated
cool to see how he started out
wow, you sound like a talking journal article , and a good one
You should see it now
i am dumb... i watched the videos for the pretty colors.
gogear131
If I tried to claim that I watched the video for some "deeper purpose" than just pretty colors, I would mostly be lying. I'd like to think that my justification for watching was more important than your's, but it wasn't.....(although explosions are always nice too)
gogear131 Science is beautiful
gogear131 I watched for the pretty colors and the amazing science. So feel bad.
not dumb, uneducated. :)
gogear131 didn't we all though?
Wood is also made up of cellulose! Can we dissolve wood in this reagent? and How it will precipitate on action of acid on it?
@Felony Videos or just get free sawdust
You can easily remove the lignin from wood and then after that you could try to react the leftovers
Wood is only part cellulose, it is also made up of hemicellulose and lignin.
Porkchop Sandwiches good point
Rayon can be made with wood pulp in this way
An interesting experiment would be to observe the cellulose fibres through a (USB) microscope before and after the process. Is there a difference in cellulose formation between the acids?
This video is 10/10, it's a damn shame it only has 20k views.
Little did you know 3 years ago he'd get over 400k subs and a average of 300k views =P
@Coondawg Cooney 3 years later? Ago for the first comment is 6 years ago for us now :D
428K now
Doazic 445000
because people who does true research who will amaze the world in the future is very low. Most of the people doesn't know the value of methods to dissolve cellulose.
Is it possible to "cast" some solid object of desired shape from that solution? Can it be evaporated?
Well, wood is partially made of cellulose too and it can keep it's shape.
Tycho343 so is toilet paper. Your point?
You understood his point pretty well
Yes and no. You can make cellophane foil out of it. But for making objects, people would use cellulose acetate or nitrocellolose so i assume those two materials are more suitable to making anything else than foil from. Guitar picks are still often made from nitrocellulose. Yes, they are very flammable.
You can skip a step and just squish cotton balls into the mold for the same effect
The title of this video should be changed to Dissolve cotton in aqueous solution.
Would it be possible to freeze the reagent with the cellulose dissolved in it, and then freeze dry it to produce an aerogel type cellulose substance? If so, then it might be able to be decomposed to form a carbon fiber aerogel?
Isn't aerogel already mostly carbon/silica?
**In the final beaker, the one with nitric acid, did he effectively create nitro cellulose(guncotton)? Does that qualify as 'nitrating cellulose'?
In order to make nitrocellulose you need concetrated nitric acid mixed with sulfuric acid. What he used was really diluted so I don't think any nitrocellulose was formed.
Copper is among my favorite elements because it makes such pretty pigments, and it can be used for many different things, such as fireworks and plumbing.
All I can think of is The Dip from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. ._.;
Huh, this looks like something you'd do in high-school chemistry... Granted I couldn't take it when in school, I love this!
An idea:
repeat the experiment, until you have the blue solution with the cellulose inside.
Than put it into the nitric acid solution to create that cellulose-goo.
Water-wash the cellulose-goo to free it from all dangerous chemicals and let it dry on a big glass-dish.
Damnit, now I need blue raspberry cool aid.
This is pretty much a starting point for manufacturing rayon and cellophane, which are the fiber and sheet forms of the reconstituted cellulose.
You could make it a really bad day at the Gucci store with this
Brother I need some help from you..I am also a student of chemistry...
This isnt really "water" at the part where you disolve it though
I've been watching these videos for about three years or so, and now that I am taking chemistry I am starting to better understand and have a even greater appreciation for these videos.
My schwizer’s reagent ate my homework
I didn't even lay attention I just watched and was like "oooo that's nice"
I've been searching for years how to drink cotton, now I finally can. Thank you nile!
why are the videos at the end of this one unavailable?
i want to know how to make tear gas and flash paper
I know it's an old video, but wait, you had a beaker full of nitric acid... a pile of cotton balls... and a beaker full of sulfuric acid... right next to each other... and you DIDN'T make anything naughty? Well I may have lost faith in you.
10:00 it's James P Sullivan ( KITTY!!!!! )
You answered my question... I was wondering if I could do gravity filtration instead of decanting.
Hi, it is a cool reaction. But I wanted to ask, what are the real life implications of this solution? Is the solution toxic? Thank you and cool chanel.
this solution was formerly used industrially to dissolve plant material, paper or cotton clothing meant for recycling. The cellulose was however precipitated by forcing the solution through an extremely fine needle that span at high speeds so that the cellulose would form long continuous individual fibres which could be used to make threads and woven into new clothing. The new material was called "rayon" as the cellulose was not directly processed from plant matter but rather dissolved and reprecipitated. Although the chemicals used can be recovered and reused several times after the process to form new solution, most companies considered it not cost efficient to do so and simply dumped the used chemicals. Thus, this method of rayon production was ruled illegal in several countries due to toxic waste generation when companies refused to recycle their chemicals.
hey, why colors of the same reagent vary between similar setups ? what slight change of intervention is causing that ?
thank you
After watching several of your videos I've concluded you like to wash everything necessary or not :)
Could you make celullose acetate while the celullose is still mixed into the water? Or Acetic acid also destroys this Copper Schweizer's Reagent?
Hello I have questions , what if I replaced the cotton with cellulose acetae? Can it dissolve too?
5:36 What.
Does the use of nitric acid result in nitration of the cellulose, or does the acid get consumed by the copper complex?
Briggs-Rauscher Reaction
Can this reaction be used to remove cellulose from plant cells?
Yes
Is nitrocellulose ever formed in the final reaction with nitric acid?
Could I not just directly use Copper Hydroxide , bought from a chemist , and add it to ammonium hydroxide ?
Why did you remove your video on the synthesis of chloroacetone?
This is neat as I didn't know cellulose could be dissolved. It's also interesting how sulfuric acid is such a go to chemical to precipitate chemicals out of solution.
that stuff would made some nice nitrocellulose xD
I would love to see a video where he dissolves cotton (cellulose) using Schweizer's Reagent.
So this could dissolve hemp and wood? I need to see that.
Try adding a little sodium aminoacid salt to the complex with dissolved cotton, and if the complex is destroyed, the fibers will be stronger.
I remember using "shirley" cuprammonium hydroxide for separating a mix of nitrocellulose and cellulose itself. interesting video. Thanks.
It's a good thing I'm not a chemist cuz a lot of these chemicals look like tasty mixed drinks
Simon p - 2019-12-12
Pro tip: If you spill something on the carpet dissolve the whole thing in Schweizer's Reagent and then re-precipitate it back onto the floor. The stain will be gone.
Devin Cloud - 2020-06-21
Most carpets are nylon and polyester. In fact I'd be willing to bet money that carpets made entirely of cotton are illegal these days. But hey, you could probably find a way to take a deep breath and end up in prison these days.
CommieBastard1312 - 2020-12-09
5 minute crafts be like ^
menotu 000 - 2020-12-28
@Devin Cloud Persian Carpets are made of natural fibers... but VERY expensive.
Jared Patterson - 2020-12-31
@Devin Cloud why would it be illegal? o:
S Tahboub - 2021-01-11
@Devin Cloud cotton carpets wouldn't be that expensive, but hand made wool ones like Persian carpets or from other regions in Asia can potentially be very expensive and quite tempting for smugglers