It is a water soluble, violet-brown or dark purple salt.

Ammonium permanganate was first prepared by Eilhard Mitscherlich in 1824 by reaction of silver permanganate with equal molar amount of ammonium chloride, filtering the silver chloride and evaporating the water.

It can also be prepared in a similar way from potassium permanganate and ammonium chloride.

Dry ammonium permanganate can detonate by heat, shock, or friction, and it may explode at temperatures above 140 °F (60 °C).

[1] Ammonium permanganate decomposes explosively to manganese dioxide, nitrogen, and water:[2] Ammonium permanganate decomposes slowly in storage even at normal temperatures.