Editing Nitration (section)

===Alternatives to nitric acid===
Mixture of nitric and acetic acids or nitric acid and acetic anhydride is commercially important in the production of [[RDX]], as amines are destructed by sulfuric acid. [[Acetyl nitrate]] had also been used as a nitration agent.<ref>Louw, Robert "Acetyl nitrate" e-EROS Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis 2001, 1-2. {{doi| 10.1002/047084289X.ra032}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1021/jo981557o |title=A Novel Method for the Nitration of Simple Aromatic Compounds |date=1998 |last1=Smith |first1=Keith |last2=Musson |first2=Adam |last3=Deboos |first3=Gareth A. |journal=The Journal of Organic Chemistry |volume=63 |issue=23 |pages=8448–8454 }}</ref>

In the [[Wolffenstein–Böters reaction]], [[benzene]] reacts with nitric acid and [[mercury(II) nitrate]] to give [[picric acid]].

In the second half of the 20th century, new reagents were developed for laboratory usage, mainly N-nitro heterocyclic compounds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yang |first=Tao |last2=Li |first2=Xiaoqian |last3=Deng |first3=Shuang |last4=Qi |first4=Xiaotian |last5=Cong |first5=Hengjiang |last6=Cheng |first6=Hong-Gang |last7=Shi |first7=Liangwei |last8=Zhou |first8=Qianghui |last9=Zhuang |first9=Lin |date=2022-09-26 |title=From N–H Nitration to Controllable Aromatic Mononitration and Dinitration─The Discovery of a Versatile and Powerful N -Nitropyrazole Nitrating Reagent |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.2c00413 |journal=JACS Au |language=en |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=2152–2161 |doi=10.1021/jacsau.2c00413 |issn=2691-3704 |pmc=9516713 |pmid=36186553}}</ref>