Trinitromethyl-triazolone (TNMTO): a highly dense oxidizer

Abstract

A scalable synthesis of 5-(trinitromethyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (TNMTO) is possible from commercially available 2-methylpyrimidine-4,6-diol. It exhibits high density (1.90 g cm⁻³) with comparably low thermal stability (T_d = 80 °C) and positive oxygen balance (OB^co = 20.51%, OB^CO₂ = 0.0%). TNMTO has an attractive combination of detonation properties (P = 35.01 GPa, D = 8997 ms⁻¹) and propulsive properties (I_sp(neat) = 251.85 s, ρI_sp(neat) = 478.52 gs cm⁻³, ). These are superior to ammonium dinitroamide (ADN), 2,2,2-tetranitroacetimidic acid (TNAA) and ammonium perchlorate (AP), making it a potential green oxidizer in solid rocket propulsion.