Glycerol trinitrate (NG) and trimethylolethane trinitrate
(TMETN),
as typical nitrate esters, are important energetic plasticizers in
solid propellants. With the aid of high-precision quantum chemical
calculations, the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM)/master equation
theory and the transition state theory have been employed to investigate
the decomposition kinetics of NG and TMETN in the gas phase (over
the temperature range of 300–1000 K and pressure range of 0.01–100
atm) and liquid phase (using water as the solvent). The continuum
solvation model based on solute electron density (SMD) was used to
describe the solvent effect. The thermal decomposition mechanism is
closely relevant to the combustion properties of energetic materials.
The results show that the RO–NO2 dissociation channel
overwhelmingly favors other reaction pathways, including HONO elimination
for the decomposition of NG and TMETN in both the gas phase and liquid
phase. At 500 K and 1 atm, the rate coefficient of gas phase decomposition
of TMETN is 5 times higher than that of NG. Nevertheless, the liquid
phase decomposition of TMETN is a factor of 5835 slower than that
of NG at 500 K. The solvation effect caused by vapor pressure and
solubility can be used to justify such contradictions. Our calculations
provide detailed mechanistic evidence for the initial kinetics of
nitrate ester decomposition in both the gas phase and liquid phase,
which is particularly valuable for understanding the multiphase decomposition
behavior and building detailed kinetic models for nitrate ester.