Syntheses and characterization of isotopically labeled 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB)

Synthesis and characterization of chemical analogues of TATB, where specific atoms in the structure have been isotopically substituted, are reported. 15N, 2H, and 18O have replaced the naturally occurring isotope distributions in the amino and/or the nitro attendant sites and 13C has replaced the carbon in the ring structure. A modified wet-amination method was used to produce the analogues, and the isotopic replacements were performed by selective choice of labeled precursors. Four 15N-labeled compounds (N replaced in the amino and nitro positions), two deuterium-labeled compounds (hydrogens replaced on the amino groups), and one 13C-labeled compound (C in the ring substituted) were synthesized of high isotopic and chemical purity. One partially labeled 18O-labeled compound (O in the nitro position) was a result of incomplete labeling due to exchange reactions during synthesis. The compounds were characterized by various spectroscopic methods - mass spectrometry (MS), solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SS-NMR), infrared (FTIR), powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), depending upon the substitution. These compounds have been critical to the efforts in understanding the decomposition pathways of TATB when exposed to abnormal thermal environments. image

Automated summary

This study synthesizes and characterizes chemical analogues of TATB with isotopically substituted atoms. Various spectroscopic methods were used to characterize the compounds. These compounds are critical for understanding the decomposition pathways of TATB in abnormal thermal environments.