Comparative theoretical studies of energetic dodecahydrodiimidazo[4,5-b:4′,5′-e]pyrazine derivatives

The dodecahydrodiimidazo[4,5-b:4',5'-e]pyrazine derivatives were optimized to obtain their molecular geometries and electronic structures at the DFT-B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. Molecular mechanics (MM) calculations were performed for the title compounds. Detonation properties were evaluated using Kamlet-Jacobs equations based on the calculated density and heat of formation (HOF). The thermal stability of the title compounds was investigated via the energy gaps (Delta ELUMO-HOMO) predicted. It is found that there are good linear relationships between detonation velocity, detonation pressure and the number of nitro group. The simulation results reveal that molecules G and H outperform HMX. According to the quantitative standard of energetics and stability as HEDMs (high energy density materials), molecules G and H essentially satisfies this requirement. These results provide basic information for molecular design of novel HEDMs. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.