Diazodinitrophenol is a yellowish brown powder

Powder (substance)

A powder is a dry,thick bulk solid composed of a large number of very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms powder and granular are sometimes used to distinguish separate classes of material...

. It is soluble in acetic acid

Acetic acid

Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...

, acetone

Acetone

Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...

, concentrated hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....

, and most non-polar solvents but is insoluble in water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

.

A solution of cold sodium hydroxide may be used to destroy it. DDNP may be desensitized by immersing it in water, as it does not react in water at normal temperature. It is less sensitive to impact but more powerful than mercury fulminate and lead azide

Lead(II) azide

Lead azide is an inorganic compound. More so than other azides, is explosive. It is used in detonators to initiate secondary explosives. In a commercially usable form, it is a white to buff powder.-Preparation and handling:...

. The sensitivity of DDNP to friction is much less than that of mercury fulminate, but it is approximately that of lead azide.

DDNP is used with other materials to form priming mixtures, particularly where a high sensitivity to flame or heat is desired. DDNP is often used as an initiating explosive in propellant

Propellant

A propellant is a material that produces pressurized gas that:* can be directed through a nozzle, thereby producing thrust ;...

 primer devices and is a substitute for lead styphnate

Lead styphnate

Lead styphnate , whose name is derived from styphnic acid, is an explosive used as a component in primer and detonator mixtures for less sensitive secondary explosives....

in what are termed "non-toxic" (lead free) priming explosive compositions.