Taming Dinitramide Anions within an Energetic Metal-Organic Framework: A New Strategy for Synthesis and Tunable Properties of High Energy Materials

Energetic polynitro anions, such as dinitramide ion [N(NO₂)₂^-], have attracted significant interest in the field of energetic materials due to their high densities and rich oxygen contents; however, most of them usually suffer from low stability. Conveniently stabilizing energetic polynitro anions to develop new high energy materials as well as tuning their energetic properties still represent significant challenges. To address these challenges, we herein propose a novel strategy that energetic polynitro anions are encapsulated within energetic cationic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). We present N(NO₂)₂^- encapsulated within a three-dimensional (3D) energetic cationic MOF through simple anion exchange. The resultant inclusion complex exhibits a remarkable thermal stability with the onset decomposition temperature of 221 °C, which is, to our knowledge, the highest value known for all dinitramide-based compounds. In addition, it possesses good energetic properties, which can be conveniently tuned by changing the mole ratio of the starting materials. The encapsulated anion can also be released in a controlled fashion without disrupting the framework. This work may shed new insights into the stabilization, storage, and release of labile energetic anions under ambient conditions, while providing a simple and convenient approach for the preparation of new energetic MOFs and the modulation of their energetic properties.