The terrorist attach which occurred in delhi high court on september 8,2011 used PETN as the deadly explosive. What does PETN stand for and how is it prepared?

The terrorist attach which occurred in delhi high court on september 8

1.	The terrorist attach which occurred in delhi high court on september 8,2011 used PETN as the deadly explosive. What does PETN stand for and how is it prepared?
Answer» Solution :PETN stands for pentaerythritol tetranitrate. Repeated cross aldol condensation between acetaldehye and EXCESS of formaldehyde in PRESENCE of NaOH first GIVES tris(hydroxymethyl) acetaldehyde which upon subsequent cross cannizzaro reaction with more formaldehyde gives pentraerythitol and sodium formate. Pentaerythiritol on nitration with conc. `HNO_(3)` gives pentaerythritol tetranitrate `(PETN)` `underset("Pentaerythiritol")(C(CH_(2)OH)_(4))+4HNO_(3)tounderset("PETN")(C(CH_(3)ONO_(2))_(4))+4H_(2)O` PETN mixed with AMMONIUM nitrate is used as a deadly explosive. PETN has been replaced in many applications by RNX which is thermally more stable and has longer shelf life.