Ammonium Nitrate, is colorless and odorless transparent crystals or small white particles. Density 1.725g/cm3(25℃). Melting point 169.6℃. It is deliquescent. Very soluble in water, the solubility increases rapidly with the rise of temperature, and absorbs heat when dissolved in water. Soluble in acetone, ammonia, slightly soluble in ethanol, insoluble in ether. Slowly heated to 210 ° C began to decompose, generating water and nitrous oxide, continue to heat the explosion. It has oxidizing property. It can cause combustion or explosion when it comes into contact with organic materials, combustible materials, acids and metal shavings.
Ammonium nitrate is mainly used as fertilizer, is a good nitrogen fertilizer, its nitrogen content is second only to liquid ammonium, urea. It can be applied alone or mixed with phosphorus and potash fertilizers to make different ratios of nitrogen-phosphorus or nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium composite fertilizers for farmland, forests or pastures. The main raw material for conventional military explosives in national defense. And can be used for pesticide, refrigerant, nitrogen oxide absorber, used in the production of laughing gas, pyrotechnics and so on. In medicine, it is used in the manufacture of nitrous oxide to make anesthetic.