Recent advances and future prospects in energetic binary C–N anions

The development of energetic materials is of great importance to both national defense and civilian applications. In addition to traditional energetic compounds that release energy through intramolecular redox reactions, the bond-cleavage energy release mechanism has also attracted considerable attention and research interest. Among compounds utilizing this mechanism, binary C–N anions represent an important class, offering advantages such as tunable properties through cation selection, high energy content, and environmental friendliness. However, a comprehensive overview of reported binary C–N anions is still lacking, leaving their current status and future directions insufficiently defined. In this review, representative binary C–N anions are selected, and their synthesis, structure, and performance are systematically summarized. The relationship between nitrogen content and energetic performance is also explored. Furthermore, several perspectives on the future development of binary C–N anions are presented, which may aid in performance prediction and molecular design of these materials. We believe that this review will offer new insights into future advances in C–N anions, nitrogen chemistry, energetic materials, and energy storage materials.