Energetic copper(II) complexes based on 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid (HDNBA) and 1,5-diaminotetrazole (DAT), Cu(DNBA) 2 (H 2 O) 2 (1) and Cu(DAT) 2 (DNBA) 2 (2) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction. In both complexes, Cu II was coordinated to a plane tetragon, by four oxygen atoms from two DNBAions and two coordinated H 2 O molecules for 1, and by two oxygen atoms and two nitrogen atoms from different DNBAions and DAT ligands for 2. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG) analyses were

1-Aza-bicyclo[2.2.2]octane/1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-based dicyanamide possesses higher densities (1.06–1.31 cm−3) than the corresponding pyrrolidinium and imidazolium-based isomers, besides hypergolicity with white fuming nitric acid.