United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Other

Greg W Drake

Karl O Christe

Tommy W Hawkins

Kerri Tollison

Provided are energetic materials of low vapor pressure in the form of ionic liquids having fuel and oxidizer ions including, substituted pyridinium or imidazolium cations paired with nitrato-, perchlorato-, or nitramido-based anions, to form such ionic liquids or salts. The salts of the present invention are low melting and have essentially little or no vapor pressure over a wide temperature range. The salts of this invention are thus an important breakthrough since they can serve as high-performing monopropellants which are not complex mixtures and have no vapor toxicity. Such salts also find use as munitions, liquid explosives, reaction media for the synthesis of other high-energy materials, and as plasticizers.

Energetic ionic liquids

The invention provides a) a method for making improved ionic halide salts, e.g., 1-methyl-4-amino-1,2,4-triazolium iodide and b) a method for making energetic ionic salts, e.g., 1-methyl-4-amino-1,2,4-triazolium nitrate, in high yield and purity from triazolium precursors. Also provided are the resulting novel salts from the above methods.

Energetic ionic salts

New energetic salts of 1,2,4-triazole; 3,4,5-triamino-1,2,4-triazole and of 4-amino 1,2,4-triazole were synthesized, characterized and their thermal and safety properties evaluated as possible new propellant ingredients. Energetic anions, including the nitrate anion, NO , the perchlorate anion, ClO , & the dinitramide anion, N(NO ) , were paired with the protonated heterocycles through facile, high yield synthetic routes to give crystalline, energetic salts. Using such a heterocycle system, either 1,2,4-triazole; 3,4,5-triamino-1,2,4-triazole or 4-amino 1,2,4-triazole, a new family of salts were synthesized through the direct reaction of the heterocycle with the corresponding acid form of the desired anion. These reactions were carried out in commonly available polar solvents, and at ambient temperatures, to give high purity, high yield products. All of the salts which were synthesized, were put through thermal stability tests and through impact testing, to reveal a robust family of new insensitive materials, suitable as new energetic propellant ingredients.

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Palmdale, CA, United States of America

Greg W Drake