Thermal behavior and thermal safety of 6b-nitrohexahydro-2H-1,3,5-trioxacyclopenta[cd]-pentalene-2,4,6-triyltrinitrate

Abstract

6b-Nitrohexahydro-2H-1,3,5-trioxacyclopenta[cd]-pentalene-2,4,6-triyltrinitrate (NHTPN) is an energetic compound with interesting properties. Its thermal and kinetic behaviors were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and its specific heat capacity (C_p) was determined by a continuous C_p mode of microcalorimetry (Micro-DSC III). In order to evaluate its thermal safety, the values (T_e0 and T_p0) of T_e and T_p corresponding to β → 0, critical temperature of thermal explosion (T_be and T_bp), adiabatic time-to-explosion (t_TIad), 50% drop height (H₅₀) of impact sensitivity, critical temperature of hot-spot initiation (T_cr), thermal sensitivity probability density function [S(T)] vs. temperature (T) relation curves for NHTPN with radius of 1 m surrounded with ambient of 340 K, the peak temperature corresponding to the maximum value of S(T) vs. T relation curve (T_S(T)max), safety degree (SD) and critical ambient temperature (T_acr) of thermal explosion of NHTPN were calculated respectively, by means of the onset temperature (T_e) and maximum peak temperature (T_p) from the non-isothermal DSC curves of NHTPN at different heating rates (β), the apparent activation energy (E_K and E_O) and pre-exponential constant (A_K) of thermal decomposition reaction obtained by Kissinger's method and Ozawa's method, C_p, density (ρ) and thermal conductivity (λ), the decomposition heat (Q_d, taking half-explosion heat), Zhang–Hu–Xie–Li's formula, Smith's equation, Friedman's formula, Bruckman–Guillet's formula, Frank-Kamenetskii formula and Wang–Du's formulas.