Synthesis and properties of potassium 5,5′-azobis(1-nitraminotetrazolate): A green primary explosive with superior initiation power

Potassium 5,5'-azobis(1-nitraminotetrazolate), (K(2)ABNAT), a new green primary explosive, was synthesized via a safe and convenient synthetic procedure based on methylcarbazate and cyanogen azide. The compound was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). With the calculated (CBS-4M) heat of formation (617.0 kJ/mol) and the room temperature X-ray density (2.11 g/cm(3)), impressive values for the detonation parameters such as detonation velocity (8367 m/s) and pressure (31.5 GPa) were computed using the EXPLO5 program. The superiot calculated energetic performance show it could serve as a green replacement for the widely used primary explosive, lead(II) azide, which contains toxic ingredient. (C) 2016 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.