A novel cocrystal explosive NTO/TZTN with good comprehensive properties

In order to decrease the acidity of the highly explosive 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), we cocrystallized NTO with a nitrogen-rich weak base compound 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrotetrazolo[1,5-b] [1,2,4]-triazine (TZTN) in a molar ratio 1: 1 to form a novel cocrystal explosive. Structure determination showed that the cocrystal is formed by strong intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction. Optical microscopy demonstrated that the crystal morphology of the cocrystal was significantly improved in contrast to the crystal of NTO and TZTN. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the cocrystal exhibited the enhancement of thermal stability and became less sensitive to impact, compared with the TZTN. Moreover, the results suggested that the NTO/TZTN cocrystal not only has unique performance itself, but also effectively alters the properties of NTO and TZTN.