Synthesis, crystal structure and thermal decomposition of a novel environmentally friendly energetic cesium compound, [Cs₂(HTNR)(OH) (H₂O)]_n

A novel energetic cesium compound based on trinitroresorein, [Cs ₂(HTNR)(OH)(H₂O)]_n (H₂TNR: 2,4,6-trinitroresorcinol) has been synthesized by the reaction of cesium nitrate and styphnic acid. The molecular structure was characterized by using X-ray diffraction analysis, elemental analysis and FT-IR analysis. The crystalline material is monoclinic with space group P2(1)/c and the empirical formula is Cs₂C₆H₅N₃O₁₀. The unit cell parameters are: a = 6.843(1) , b = 10.185(2) , c = 19.026(4) , β = 96.21(1)°, V = 1318.21(40) ³, Z = 4, D_c = 2.746 Mg/m³, M_r = 544.95, F(000) = 1008, μ(Mo K _α) = 5.588 mm^-1. The thermal decomposition mechanism of the compound was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo-gravimetric derivative (TG-DTG) techniques. At the linear heating rate of 10°C/min, the thermal decomposition of the compound finally evolved CsCN and other gas products, which indicated three decomposition processes between 60 and 500°C.