Modification of electrostatic sensitivity by the resonant absorption of N-N bond under carbon dioxide laser irradiation

Quantitatively modulating sensitivity of the energetic materials while minimizing detonation energy impact is a persistent challenge as conventional modification methods often sacrifice energy output. Herein, we propose a novel strategy utilizing resonant absorption of vibrational energy levels by specific laser wavelengths to induce thermal effects, leading to controlled lattice disruption with negligible molecular changes.By this method, the irradiation with a 10.6 μm CO₂ laser line on RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) reduces electrostatic sensitivity by 30%, while detonation-related parameters (e.g., velocity, pressure) remain within acceptable error margins.Structural characterization confirmed irradiation-induced crystallographic changes and subtle molecular modifications in RDX. This finding highlights the underlying mechanism of the reduction process. CO₂ laser photons are resonantly absorbed by the N-N bonds in RDX molecules, inducing thermal effects in the crystal lattice, leading to crystal melting and partial N-NO₂ bond breakage, significantly reducing sensitivity.