A research team led by David E. Chavez at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) has now developed a novel tetranitrate ester.
As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the compound has a particularly interesting characteristic profile: it is solid at room temperature, is a highly powerful explosive, and can be melt-cast into the desired shape.
Thanks to its low melting point of only about 85 degreesC, which is well below its decomposition point (141 degreesC), it can be melted and poured into molds, a much easier process for the production of explosive components.
The new compound contains four nitrate ester groups (-ONO2) and two nitrate groups (-NO2) bound to a total of six carbon atoms. Its crystals demonstrate the highest density found for a nitrate ester so far.
Computer calculations predict that the new tetranitrate ester should have an explosive power as high as that of octogen (HMX) - currently one of the highest-performance explosives. The sensitivity of the new compound toward shocks, friction, and sparks is equivalent to that of nitropenta.
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