Melt Castable Derivatives of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate

Abstract

In the search for high-performance and environmentally friendly energetic materials, the derivatization of known materials is an often-applied concept to fulfill modern-day demands. Surprisingly, the long know pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) has only been derivatized to a limited extent. PETN shows a brought application in energetic materials or pharmaceutics. In this work, the PETN backbone is modified by introducing nitramine, ionic nitramine, amine, ionic amine and tetrazole functionalities. The obtained and structurally similar compounds allow good comparability and insights into functional group effects on sensitivity, thermal behavior and performance. The functionalizations result in melting points in the range of 64 to 126 °C. Some compounds are therefore potential candidates to replace toxic TNT.