Boosting Laser-Ignited Combustion Performance of Energetic Materials with Low Sensitivity: Integration of Triazene-Bridged Triazole with Oxygen-Rich Moieties via Noncovalent Self-Assembly

It has long been a driving force in the development of energetic materials to hunt for novel high-energy density materials (HEDMs) with high energy and good stability. Recently, the noncovalent self-assembly strategy of energetic anions and cations to generate HEDMs is an effective strategy for introducing an oxidizer and fuel separately into the energy system. In this study, bis(1,2,4-triazolyl)triazene containing triazene (-N=N=NH-) and oxidant molecules (i.e., HNO3 and HClO4) were selected as high-energy ions to develop new high energy materials by using noncovalent self-assembly. The experimental results showed that three exemplary compounds possess excellent detonation pressure and detonation velocity (PC-J: 22.8-29.3 GPa and D: 7425-8135 m s(-1)), which are comparable to the classical explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) (PC-J: 19.5 GPa and D: 6881 m s(-1)) as well as 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX) (PC-J: 34.9 GPa and D: 8795 m s(-1)). Moreover, 1 and 3 exhibit low mechanical sensitivities (IS: 40 J and IS: 70 J). Thus, 1 and 3 have great potential as insensitive energetic materials. Especially, these energetic assemblies have excellent laser-ignited combustion properties and can be used as candidates for low sensitivity propellants.

Automated summary

The search for novel high-energy density materials (HEDMs) with high energy and good stability has been a driving force in the development of energetic materials. Recently, the noncovalent self-assembly strategy of energetic anions and cations has proven to be an effective method for creating HEDMs. This study demonstrated the successful development of new high energy materials using noncovalent self-assembly of bis(1,2,4-triazolyl)triazene and oxidant molecules. The resulting compounds exhibited excellent detonation properties and low mechanical sensitivities, making them potential insensitive energetic materials for various applications.