An environmentally friendly methods for making 2,4-dinitrophenyl compound comprising, providing a nitromalondialdehyde, providing a nitroacetone, reacting the nitromalondialdehydes with the nitroacetone to produce a mixture, and subjecting the mixture to a cyclodehydrative mechanism to produce environmentally friendly 2,4-dinitrophenyl compound. Embodiments of the present invention include the 2,4-dinitrophenyl compound produced by the methods of described above.