Synthesis and characterization of a new family of energetic salts based on a guanidinium cation containing a picryl moiety

Abstract

A new family of energetic salts based on a new guanidinium cation containing a picryl moiety, N-(2,4,6-trinitrobenzylideneamino)guanidinium cation, was synthesized and well characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and elemental analysis. The structures of N-(2,4,6-trinitrobenzylideneamino)guanidinium nitrate (1) and N-(2,4,6-trinitrobenzylideneamino)guanidinium 5-nitrotetrazolate (5) were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Most of the salts decompose at temperatures over 180 °C. Furthermore, except for the salts 1 and 9, most energetic salts exhibit low impact sensitivities (20–40 J), friction sensitivities (220–340 N), and are insensitive to electrostatics. The detonation pressure values calculated for the energetic salts 1 and 3–9 range from 23.7 to 30.3 GPa, and their detonation velocities range from 7842 to 8394 m s⁻¹. These values indicate that some energetic salts can be candidates for energetic materials that possess good thermal stability and low sensitivity.