Tetrazolyl Triazolotriazine: A New Insensitive High Explosive

A triazolotriazine carbonitrile (1) was formed by diazotization of 3-amino-5-cyano-1,2,4-triazole followed by treatment with nitroacetonitrile. Cyclization of the C equivalent to N bond with sodium azide results in a tetrazolyl triazolotriazine (2). Formation of the sodium salt of 2, followed by metathesis with [PPN][Cl] resulted in the organic salt 3. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 were characterized by elemental analysis and infrared, H-1, and C-13{H-1} NMR spectroscopy and 1 and 3 were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 2 has a density of 1.819 gcm(-1), is thermally stable up to 305 degrees C, and is insensitive to impact, friction, and electrical discharge. The detonation pressure and velocity of 2 are calculated to be 27.04 GPa and 8.312 kms(-1), respectively, making this a 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) replacement candidate.