1,3-Bis(3,4,5-trifluoro-2,6-dinitrophenyl)urea (ZXC-19): a multifluorine substituted propellant with superior detonation performance

Abstract

Fluorine-containing explosives have potential applications in rocket propellant and explosive formulations because they produce a large number of products with a smaller molecular weight and high detonation performance when they are detonated. Here we synthesize a multifluorine substituted energetic compound: 1,3-bis(3,4,5-trifluoro-2,6-dinitrophenyl)urea (ZXC-19). ZXC-19 was synthesized by a simple, efficient and two-step reaction method with commercial reagents for the first time. ZXC-19 was characterized by means of mass spectrometry, multinuclear (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F) NMR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis and DSC. The sensitivities were determined by BAM methods (a drop hammer and a friction tester). The heats of formation were calculated by using CBS-4M electronic enthalpies and an atomization method. Various detonation parameters such as detonation velocity and pressure were computed by using the Kamlet procedure. And the results showed that ZXC-19 has a poor solubility in water, a good solubility in most organic solvents, a surprisingly high density (1.899 g cm⁻³ at 298 K), a decent thermal stability, a positive and high heat of formation, and good detonation properties.