The explosive sensitivity of methylammonium perchlorates has been investigated by differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, mass spectrometry and explosion delay experiments. The decomposition temperature of these compounds increases in the order CH3NH3C10 ~ > (CH3)zNH2C104 > (CH.~)3NHC104. The activation energy shows the reverse order, indicating thereby that the stability increases with increasing substitution. Mass spectrometric investigation, however, suggests an increasing reactivity with increasing substitution. A possible explanation for such behaviour is proposed. It appears that explosion delay is correlated with thermal decomposition and impact sensitivity.During the past few years there has been increasing interest in the thermal studies of methyl-substituted ammonium perchlorates [1][2][3][4][5]. It is amazing to note that ammonium perchlorate, a comparatively stable compound, becomes almost an explosive on substitution of one or more of its protons by a methyl group [1 ]. The explosion temperature of monomethylammonium perchlorate has been reported to be 338 ~ [6]. The relative thermal stability of the methyl-substituted ammonium perchlorates, however, seems to be dependent upon the technique employed for investigation. For example, from a thermal decomposition study using a mass spectrometer, Guillory and King [3] have concluded that the substitution of methyl groups into the ammonium cation stabilizes these perchlorates. This is based upon their observation that the dissociation temperatures increase with increasing methyl substitution into the cation, i.e. in the order NH4C10~ < < CH3NHzC104 < (CH3)2NH2CIO4 < (CH3)3NHC104. Further, the impact sensitivity results obtained by Stammler et al. [1 ] indicate monomethylammonium perchlorate to be most sensitive, whereas the decomposition temperatures of these compounds as revealed by differential thermal analysis seem to decrease as the methyl substitution increases, showing thereby that their stabilities probably decrease with increasing substitution.Though speculations about the similarity or dissimilarity of the mechanisms of explosion by impact and by heat could be misleading [7], recent work by Pai Verneker and Avrami [8] suggests a definite correlation between the explosive sensitivities of barium azide to heat, impact or friction. The present investigation