Nitroamino triazoles: Nitrogen-rich precursors of stable energetic salts

1-Nitroamino-1,2,3-triazole (5) was synthesized and its zwitterionic structure was established using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The calculated detonation properties for 4-nitroamino-1,2,4-triazole (2) (P = 33.4 GPa, vD = 8793 m/s) and 1-nitro amino-1, 2,3-triazole (5) (P = 33.0 GPa, vD = 8743 m/s) are comparable with RDX. A new family of energetic salts 721 based on either the 1-nitroamino-1,2,3-triazolate or the 4-nitroamino-1,2,4-triazolate anion were prepared and characterized by vibrational spectroscopy (IR), multinuclear NMR spectra, elemental analyses, density, TGA and DSC. The heats of formation (Delta H-f degrees(298)) and detonation properties for these stable salts were calculated using Gaussian 03 and Cheetah 4.0, respectively. Comparison of the properties of the 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazolate salts indicates that while the 1, 2,4-derivatives are more stable thermally, the 1,2,3-analogs invariably have higher heats of formation. In contrast to its salts, 1-nitroamino-1,2,3-triazole (5) is extremely shock-sensitive with an impact sensitivty of <1J. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008).