Assembling tetrazole-rings on a fused ring framework: toward energetic materials with enhanced performance

A series of nitrogen-rich fused ring energetic compounds assembled with different numbers of tetrazole rings were achieved by the classic Dimroth rearrangement (DR) reaction. The DFT calculations of the reaction were carried out for the detailed mechanism. All newly prepared energetic compounds were fully characterized, and the key physicochemical properties showed high nitrogen content (60.20-72.04%), high heats of formation (755-1085 kJ mol⁻¹), and good stabilities. This work gives the classic Dimroth rearrangement new vitality to access energetic materials and highlights the influence of HEDMs properties by the different numbers of tetrazole rings.