Structures and Binding Energies of Nitrate Plasticizers DEGDN, TEGDN, and Nitroglycerine

Abstract

The interactions between nitrate plasticizer ingredients nitroglycerine, diethylene glycol dinitrate (DEGDN), and triethylene glycol dinitrate (TEGDN) have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. Density functional theory (DFT) and second order perturbation theory (MP2) calculations show that intermolecular N−O electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding between alkyl hydrogens and oxygen atoms govern the dimer structures, which have predicted binding energies ranging from 20.6 to 39.3 kJ mol−1. Vibrational frequencies observed in the nitrate band fingerprint region of the infrared spectra are in good agreement with the DFT scaled harmonic frequencies. The relative volatility observed in thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements of the pure ingredients and their 1 : 1 mixtures show reasonable correlation with the DFT dimer binding energies. The similarity in the dimer binding energies of all three plasticizers suggest that their mixtures should be uniformly miscible.

Photochemical Strategies Enable the Synthesis of Tunable Azetidine-Based Energetic Materials

“…Two categories of interest for energetic materials include standalone solid melt-castable compounds ,, and liquid propellant plasticizers. − TNT is currently viewed as the state-of-the-art material that constitutes the benchmark in the development of a new, standalone melt-castable (Figure A). Standalone melt-castable energetics typically have the following physical requirements: A high melting point (70–90 °C), low vapor pressure, and a sufficient charge separation between melting and the onset of decomposition ( T dec > T melt ) (Figure A) .…”

Towards Investigating the Effect of Ammonium Nitrate on the Characteristics and Thermal Decomposition Behavior of Energetic Double Base NC/DEGDN Composite

“…Broadly, an appropriate plasticizer should display acceptable sensitivity, compatibility with other components, suitable melting point, and good density [6]. Nonetheless, nitroglycerine, the most largely employed energetic plasticizer, suffers from various problems, including sensitivity to friction and impact, low oxygen balance (3.5%), reduced thermal stability, and migratory issues [7][8][9]. To address the abovementioned issues associated with traditional NG reliance, several emergent plasticizers comprising DEGDN and EGDN are revealed as promising candidates to replace NG, owing to their inherent characteristics such as improved participation and wetting features that lead to softer boundaries at NC interfaces, thus decreasing the sensitivity of the energetic formulation.…”

Simultaneous determination of the component ratio and moisture content in TEGDN/NG composites by the qNMR method

“…[7][8][9] Due to hydrolysis between the nitrate ester and H 2 O, the trace moisture content of TEGDN/NG will affect the safety performance, such as the sensitivity and compatibility. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Particularly for high-energy and high-sensitivity nitrate esters, tiny changes in moisture content could have a great impact on the safety performance in practice. 16 Karl Fischer titration and chromatography methods have been extensively used in the quantitative analysis of the moisture content and component ratio, respectively.…”