Amino-group excites vitality in nitrogen-rich energetic salts of triazolium

Incorporating amino groups is an efficient strategy for the tuning properties of energetic materials. However, there is no unanimous conclusion on the effect of the number of amino groups (−NH₂) on performance. Therefore, in this study, different number of −NH₂ of four energetic salts of triazolium based on oxadiazole and triazole were designed and synthesized. The structure features of energetic salts 4–6 were then investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffractions and Hirshfeld surfaces analyses. Afterward, the effects of −NH₂ were evaluated by thermal stability, impact sensitivity and detonation performance. All these energetic salts were insensitive to mechanical stimulation (IS >40 J), but the thermal decomposition temperatures of energetic salt 5–7 with −NH₂ are 24 °C to 54 °C higher than energetic salt 4 without −NH₂. Moreover, energetic salt 5 with one −NH₂ has the highest theoretical detonation properties compared to those without −NH₂ (4) and with two −NH₂ (6, 7). These observations revealed that appropriate amount of −NH₂ can lead to desirable increase in the energetic properties, and this work can offer guidance for the design and synthesis of further energetic salts.