Xylyl bromide

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Xylyl Bromide, T-stoff, white cross (German), or methylbenzyl bromide, was used as a tear gas in World War I. It was a popular agent due to its easy manufacture. Its first use is dated to August 1914, when the French used tear gas grenades with xylyl bromide on Germans.[1]

Xylyl bromide was the active ingredient in the T-shell, an artillery shell with explosive in its front part, filled with the liquid agent and named after Hans Tappen, its inventor. On January 30, 1915, it was used against Russians, without much success as the volatility of xylyl bromide in such low temperatures^[specify] is near zero.

Gas masks offered good protection against xylyl bromide.

The CAS number is [89-92-9] for o-xylyl bromide (2-methylbenzyl bromide), [28258-59-5] for p-xylyl bromide (4-methylbenzyl bromide), and [620-13-3] for m-xylyl bromide (3-methylbenzyl bromide). Number [35884-77-6] is reported as well.

[edit] See also

• Use of poison gas in World War I
• History of biological and chemical warfare, ch.2

[edit] External links

• Links to external chemical sources