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Nitrogen‐rich energetic materials based on five‐membered azoles, such as tetrazoles, triazoles, oxadiazoles, pyrazoles, and imidazoles, have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their environmental compatibility while maintaining high performance. These materials, including explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, are designed to release energy rapidly and efficiently while minimizing the release of toxic or hazardous byproducts and have attracted potential applications in the defense and space industries. The presence of extensive NC, NN, and NN high energy bonds in azoles provides high enthalpies of formation and facilitates intermolecular interactions through π‐stacking which may help with reducing sensitivity to external stimuli. Now, we report on the synthesis and energetic properties ofN‐(5‐(1H‐tetrazol‐5‐yl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazol‐2‐yl)nitramide (5) and its energetic salts. These new high nitrogen–oxygen‐containing materials have attractive feature applications of insensitivity and increased performance.

 

Energetic properties of bistetrazole derivatives are improved by the step-by-step introduction of functionalities which improve heat of formation, density, and oxygen content. The incorporation of unsaturation between bis(1 H -tetrazol-5-yl) and bis(1 H -tetrazol-1-ol) derivatives leads to planarity which enhances the density of the final product. In this manuscript, we have synthesized compounds 1,2-di(1 H -tetrazol-5-yl)ethane (4), ( E )-1,2-di(1 H -tetrazol-5-yl)ethene (5), and ( E )-5,5′-(ethene-1,2-diyl)bis(1 H -tetrazol-1-ol), (6) using readily available starting materials. Their corresponding dihydroxylammonium salts 7, 8 and 9 are obtained by reacting two equivalents of hydroxylamine (50% in water). New compounds are analyzed using IR, EA, DSC and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy ( 1 H, 13 C and 15 N). The solid-state structures of compounds 6, 7, 8 and 9 are confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The energetic performances are calculated using the EXPLO5 (v6.06.02) code and the sensitivities towards external stimuli such as friction and impact are determined according to BAM standard. Compound 6 {( E )-5,5′-(ethene-1,2-diyl)bis(1 H -tetrazol-1-ol)} exhibits a surprisingly high density of 1.91 g cm −3 at 100 K (1.86 g cm −3 at 298 K). Its detonation velocity (9017 m s −1 ) is considerably superior to those of RDX (8795 m s −1 ), which suggests it is a competitive high-energy-density material. 

Nitrogen-rich heterocycles are essential for designing novel energetic green materials with the combination of high explosive performance and acceptable mechanical sensitivities. In this work, two sets of high nitrogen-azoles, derived from tetrazoles and triazole assemblies with N -trinitromethane, 5,5′-(2-(trinitromethyl)-2 H -1,2,3-triazole-4,5-diyl)bis(1 H -tetrazole) (TBTN) and N -methylene tetrazole, 5,5′-(2-((1 H -tetrazol-5-yl)methyl)-2 H -1,2,3-triazole-4,5-diyl)bis(1 H -tetrazole) (TBTT) are described. Their molecular structures were confirmed using multinuclear ( 1 H, 13 C, and 15 N) NMR spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. These molecules are attention attracting results emanating from methodologies utilized to access a unique class of tri-ionic salts in reaction with nitrogen-rich bases. The thermostabilities, mechanical sensitivities, and detonation properties of all new compounds were determined. Surprisingly, the nitro-based tri-cationic salts, 5b (Dv = 9376 m s −1 ) and 5c (Dv = 9418 m s −1 ), have excellent detonation velocities relative to HMX (Dv = 9144 m s −1 ), while those of the nitro-free tri-cationic salts, 8b·H2O (Dv = 8998 m s −1 ) and 8c·0.5H2O (Dv = 9058 m s −1 ), are superior to that of RDX (Dv = 8795 m s −1 ) and approach HMX values. Additionally, nearly all new compounds are insensitive to mechanical stimuli because of the high percentage of hydrogen bond interactions (HBs) between the anions and cations, which are evaluated using two-dimensional (2D) fingerprint and Hirshfeld surface analyses. It is believed that the work presented here is the first example of high-performing and insensitive tri-cationic energetic salts, which may establish a discovery platform for the “green” synthesis of future energetic materials. 

Trinitromethane moieties are very important for the design and development of high performing dense green oxidizers. The novel oxidizer 1,2-bis(5-(trinitromethyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl)diazene, 14 is stable in water in contrast to 1,2,4-oxadiazoles with other electron withdrawing substituents at the C5-position. Compound 14 is a CNO-based oxidizer with positive oxygen balance (+6.9%), moderate thermostability, and mechanical insensitivity that may find useful applications in the field of green rocket propallant. 

The assembly of nitrogen-rich building blocks determines the energy storage capacity and affects the stability of energetic materials. Owing to the environmentally harmful properties of the propellant, ammonium perchlorate (AP), much research has explored halogen-free replacements which often suffer from poor thermal stability. In our goal of balancing performance and stability, we report access to an energetic molecule (3) by smart assembly of an azo bridge into trinitromethyl triazoles. Compound 3 exhibits a decomposition temperature of 175 °C, which approaches the highest among reported trinitromethyl derivatives. The density (1.91 g cm −3 ) and oxygen balance (+29%) for 3 exceed other candidates, suggesting it as a high energy dense oxidizer (HEDO) replacement for AP in rocket propellants. One-step azo-involved cyclization of 3 give two fused nitro triazolones, (FNTO) 4 and its N -oxide 5, having thermal stabilities and energies superior to the analogous derivatives of 5-nitro-2,4-dihydro-3 H -1,2,4-triazole-3-one (NTO). The comparison of properties of the fused triazolones 4 and 8 and their N -oxide derivatives 5 and 9 shows that formation of an N -oxide is an effective strategy which results in an increase of the decomposition temperature, oxygen balance, specific impulse, and detonation properties and in a decrease of the sensitivity of the corresponding energetic material. This work highlights bridged and fused triazolic energetic frameworks with an azo building block providing an alternative structural motif for seeking an applicable high-energy ingredient.