Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Decomposition of a New Energetic Salt of 1H,1′H-5,5′-Bistetrazole-1,1′-diol

1,1-Dimethylbiguanidium 1H,1'H-5,5'-bistetrazole-1,1'-diolate (MGBTO), a novel nitrogen-rich energetic salt, was synthesized by cation exchange. Its structure was characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, NMR, DTA and TG-DTG. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that MGBTO was crystallized in the monoclinic space group C2/c. Thermal analysis demonstrated that its thermal stability extended up to 531.1 K. The nonisothermal kinetic and apparent thermodynamic parameters of the exothermic decomposition of MGBTO were determined by the Kissinger and Ozawa methods. Its detonation velocity and detonation pressure were calculated on the basis of the Kamlet-Jacobs equation and were 6342 m.s(-1) and 15.78 GPa, respectively. The impact and friction sensitivities of MGBTO were quantified using standard BAM (10 kg drop hammer) procedures. The results revealed that the salt has good mechanical sensitivity (FS > 120 N, IS > 40 J), thus indicating its potential applications as an energetic material.