New Method for Predicting the Enthalpy of Salt Formation

Computational insight into the crystal structures of cubane and azacubanes

CONTEXT

Using quantum chemistry and atom-atom potential methods, the molecular and crystal structures of cubane 1 and all types of unsubstituted azacubanes 2-22 were calculated. Alternative possible polymorphs of cubane 1 have been proposed. The thermochemical properties of azacubanes in the gas and solid phases were assessed. Thermodynamic aspects of stability are considered, and a significant decrease in stability is revealed upon transition from cubane 1 to octaazacubane 22. It has been shown that the density and energetic properties of azacubanes depend nonlinearly on the number of nitrogen atoms in the structure and the density of octaazacubane 22 at room temperature is 1.546 g cm-3, which is significantly lower than the previously given estimate.

METHODS

In this work, DFT calculations were conducted through the software Gaussian 09 using B3LYP functional with basis set aug-cc-PVDZ and the Grimme dispersion correction D2. For crystal structure optimization, the atom-atom potential methods with PMC (packing of molecules in crystal) program were used. Charges for molecular electrostatic potential were fitted by FitMEP, and enthalpies of formation in gas phase were assessed by G3B3.

Substituted tetrazoles with N-oxide moiety: critical assessment of thermochemical properties

Modeling of the structure of molecules and simulation of crystal structure followed by the calculation of the enthalpies of formation for 21 salts of three high-energy tetrazole 1N-oxides: 5-nitro-1-hydroxy-1H-tetrazole 1a-1g, 5-trinitromethyl-1-hydroxy-1H-tetrazole 2a-2g and 6-amino-3-(1-hydroxy-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine 1,5-dioxide 3a-3g was performed. The methods of quantum chemistry and the method of atom-atom potentials were used. Structural search for optimal crystal packings was carried out in 11 most common space symmetry groups. The enthalpies of formation were obtained and analyzed using two different approaches: VBT and MICCM methods, which allowed to evaluate the quality of these calculation methods. In addition, the results obtained indicate high values of thermochemical characteristics for some of the considered compounds, which have a positive effect on their explosive properties and unveil their future application potential.

Is everything correct? The formation enthalpy estimation and data revision of nitrate and perchlorate salts

CONTEXT

  In modern searches for the structure of high-energy-density compounds with high operational, detonation, and physicochemical characteristics, a special place belongs to salts, which have a number of significant advantages over neutral compounds. The development of this area of HEDM is hampered by the lack of effective calculation schemes for estimating the enthalpy of formation DH_f⁰ of salts, as a key parameter in assessing the prospects for their use. Based on the author's method (MICCM), which is superior in accuracy to currently available calculation methods, the enthalpies of formation of various salts of nitrates and perchlorates for a promising class of high-energy amino-1,2,4-triazoles are calculated and the accuracy of calculations is estimated by other methods. Relationships between the thermochemical characteristics of salts depending on various cations are considered. Among the considered compounds, calculations of the enthalpies of salts of three amino-1,2,4-triazoles showed a significant discrepancy with the experimental data.

METHODS

Calculations DH_f⁰of salts were performed using three methods: volume-base thermodynamic (Jenkins/Bartlett method), the method of adding of ions contributions (MAIC, Matyushin's method), and the method of ions and cocrystals contribution mixing (MICCM, Khakimov's method). Calculations by the MICCM method were carried out on the basis of quantum chemistry methods (when estimating the enthalpies of formation in the gas phase) and the method of atom-atom potentials (AAP) when calculating the enthalpy of sublimation of salts. We have optimized all the structures in the gas phase using the Becke three hybrid exchange and Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional with Grimme's dispersion correction, B3LYP-D2, and aug-cc-pVDZ basis set using the Gaussian16 software. The AAP calculations were performed using the FitMEP software packages (for adjusting the charges of the molecular electrostatic potential) and PMC (for the procedure for constructing crystal packings and searching for optimal ones).

Novel family of nitrogen-rich energetic (1,2,4-triazolyl) furoxan salts with balanced performance

Nitrogen-rich energetic materials comprised of a combination of several heterocyclic subunits retain their leading position in the field of materials science. In this regard, a preparation of novel high-energy materials with balanced set of physicochemical properties is highly desired. Herein, we report the synthesis of a new series of energetic salts incorporating a (1,2,4-triazolyl) furoxan core and complete evaluation of their energetic properties. All target energetic materials were well characterized with IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, while compound 6 was further characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. Prepared nitrogen-rich salts have high thermal stability (up to 232°C), good experimental densities (up to 1.80 g cm⁻³) and high positive enthalpies of formation (344–1,095 kJ mol⁻¹). As a result, synthesized energetic salts have good detonation performance (D = 7.0–8.4 km s⁻¹; p = 22–32 GPa), while their sensitivities to impact and friction are quite low.

An Alliance of Polynitrogen Heterocycles: Novel Energetic Tetrazinedioxide-Hydroxytetrazole-Based Materials

Energetic materials constitute one of the most important subtypes of functional materials used for various applications. A promising approach for the construction of novel thermally stable high-energy materials is based on an assembly of polynitrogen biheterocyclic scaffolds. Herein, we report on the design and synthesis of a new series of high-nitrogen energetic salts comprising the C-C linked 6-aminotetrazinedioxide and hydroxytetrazole frameworks. Synthesized materials were thoroughly characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. As a result of a vast amount of the formed intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds, prepared ammonium and amino-1,2,4-triazolium salts are thermally stable and have good densities of 1.75–1.78 g·cm⁻³. All synthesized compounds show high detonation performance, reaching that of benchmark RDX. At the same time, as compared to RDX, investigated salts are less friction sensitive due to the formed net of hydrogen bonds. Overall, reported functional materials represent a novel perspective subclass of secondary explosives and unveil further opportunities for an assembly of biheterocyclic next-generation energetic materials.