Synthesis and characterization of metal derivatives of 1,1,2,2-tetranitraminoethane (TNAE)

The introduction of anions and cations into energetic materials can significantly improve their physicochemical and energetic properties. The K, Zn, Ba, Cu and Pb salts of 1,1,2,2-tetranitraminoethane (TNAE) were synthesized using TNAE as the starting material, and were characterized by IR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. All of the energetic salts exhibited relatively high thermal stabilities (decomposition temperatures ranging from 195.1 °C to 279.3 °C) and high densities (ranging from 2.1 g·cm^-3 to 3.7 g·cm^-3). It was demonstrated that the introduction of metal ions conveys better thermal stability than covalent TNAE itself. More importantly, the Zn, Ba and Cu salts exhibited good thermal stability, high density, low sensitivity, and therefore have the potential to be a new class of insensitive, highly energetic explosives for practical applications.