1. A yellow crystalline compound (C₆H₄N₂O₅) used historically as a weight-loss drug and in the manufacture of explosives and dyes, now banned or restricted in most countries due to severe toxicity.
Usage: chemistry; historical; dangerous substance

Examples

• Dinitrophenol was once marketed as a diet pill before its extreme dangers became widely recognized.
• The chemical dinitrophenol increases metabolic rate but causes uncontrollable hyperthermia.
• Dinitrophenol is still used in some industrial applications despite strict regulations.
• Exposure to dinitrophenol can result in peripheral neuropathy and other serious health effects.
• The compound dinitrophenol was synthesized in the 19th century for use in explosives.