High energetic polymeric nitrogen sheet confined in a graphene matrix

Polymeric nitrogen, as a potential high-energy-density material (HEDM), has many applications, such as in energy storage systems, explosives and propellants. Nowadays it is very urgent to find a suitable method to stabilize polymeric nitrogen at ambient conditions. Herein, we present a new hybrid structure where polymeric nitrogen sheets are sandwiched between graphene sheets in the form of a three-dimensional crystal. According to ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) calculations and phonon spectrum calculations, it is demonstrated that polymeric nitrogen sheets are stable at ambient pressure and temperature. The hybrid material has a higher nitrogen content (the weight ratio of nitrogen is up to 53.84%), and the corresponding energy density is 5.2 kJ g−1. The hybrid material (A7@graphene system) has a satisfactory energy density, detonation velocity and detonation pressure. Importantly, the hybrid material can be preserved up to 450 K, and above this temperature, the polymeric nitrogen sheets break up into polymeric nitrogen chains or nitrogen gases and release tremendous energy. Further calculations reveal that small charge transfer between the polymeric nitrogen sheets and graphene sheets creates a weak electrostatic attraction compared with other hybrid materials, which is just good for the stabilization of the polymeric nitrogen sheets at ambient conditions, and favors energy release in a gentle way. The proposed confinement hybrid material which has a high energy density and a gentle energy release temperature, provides a highly promising method for the capture and application of polymeric nitrogen in a controllable way. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.