Energetic nitrogen-rich salts and ionic liquids: 5-aminotetrazole (AT) as a weak acid

5-Aminotetrazole (AT) behaves as a weak acid and can be used to obtain nitrogen-rich energetic salts and ionic liquids. These AT salts have been characterized by IR, NMR, elemental analysis, thermal stability, phase behavior, and density. The salt 2 contains 82% nitrogen, and 7 has the highest nitrogen content (68%) of any known room temperature ionic liquid. Compound 5 crystallizes in the chiral orthorhombic system P2(1) 2(1) 2(1). Based on their calculated heats of formation, detonation properties, and thermal and hydrolytic stabilities, these stable AT compounds hold promise for energetic applications.