The United States of America As Represented by the United States

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Energy

Kien-yin Lee

Michael D Coburn

Mary M Stinecipher

Carlyle B Storm

Howard H Cady

Compositions of matter, a method of providing chemical energy by burning said compositions, and methods of making said compositions. These compositions are amine salts of nitroazoles.

Amine salts of nitroazoles

A method for making 3-amino-5-nitro-1,2,4-triazole using ammonium 3,5-dinitro-1,2,4-triazole and hydrazine hydrate as starting materials and a method for providing energy derived from 3-amino-5-nitro-1,2,4-triazole.

Detonating an insensitive explosive

A less sensitive explosive, 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one. The compound 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) has a crystal density of 1.93 g/cm.sup.3 and calculated detonation velocity and pressure equivalent to those of RDX. It can be prepared in high yield from inexpensive starting materials in a safe synthesis. Results from initial small-scale sensitivity tests indicate that NTO is less sensitive than RDX and HMX in all respects. A 4.13 cm diameter, unconfined plate-dent test at 92% of crystal density gave the detonation pressure predicted for NTO by the BKW calculation.

3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one, a less sensitive explosive

A new high density composition of matter, 1,1'-dinitro-3,3'-azo-1,2,4-triazole, has been synthesized using inexpensive, commonly available compounds. This compound has been found to be an explosive, and its use as a propellant is anticipated.

Preparation of 1,1'-dinitro-3,3'-azo-1,2,4-triazole

Ethylenediamine salt of 5-nitrotetrazole and preparation. This salt has been found to be useful as an explosive alone and in eutectic mixtures with ammonium nitrate and/or other explosive compounds. Its eutectic with ammonium nitrate has been demonstrated to behave in a similar manner to a monomolecular explosive such as TNT, and is less sensitive than the pure salt. Moreover, this eutectic mixture, which contains 87.8 mol % of ammonium nitrate, is close to the CO.sub.2 -balanced composition of 90 mol %, and has a relatively low melting point of 110.5 C. making it readily castable. The ternary eutectic system containing the ethylenediamine salt of 5-nitrotetrazole, ammonium nitrate and ethylenediamine dinitrate has a eutectic temperature of 89.5 C. and gives a measured detonation pressure of 24.8 GPa, which is 97.6% of the calculated value. Both the pure ethylenediamine salt and its known eutectic compounds behave in substantially ideal manner. Methods for the preparation of the salt are described.

Ethylenediamine salt of 5-nitrotetrazole and preparation

Method for the preparation of ethylenediamine dinitrate. Ethylenediamine dinitrate, a useful explosive, may readily be prepared by solvent extraction of nitrate ion from an acidic aqueous solution thereof using a high-molecular-weight, water-insoluble amine dissolved in an organic solvent, and reacting the resulting organic solution with ethylenediamine. The process of the instant invention avoids the use of concentrated nitric acid, as is currently practiced, resulting in a synthesis which is far less hazardous especially for large quantities of the explosive, and more efficient.

Preparation of ethylenediamine dinitrate

Applicants have discovered a new composition of matter which is an explosive addition compound of ammonium nitrate (AN) and diethylenetriamine trinitrate (DETN) in a 50:50 molar ratio. The compound is stable over extended periods of time only at temperatures higher than 46.degree. C., decomposing to a fine-grained eutectic mixture (which is also believed to be new) of AN and DETN at temperatures lower than 46.degree. C. The compound of the invention has an x-ray density of 1.61 g/cm.sup.3, explodes to form essentially only gaseous products, has higher detonation properties (i.e., detonation velocity and pressure) than those of any mechanical mixture having the same density and composition as the compound of the invention, is a quite insensitive explosive material, can be cast at temperatures attainable by high pressure steam, and is prepared from inexpensive ingredients. Methods of preparing the compound of the invention and the fine-grained eutectic composition of the invention are given.

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Los Alamos, NM, United States of America

Kien-yin Lee