Synthesis, characterization and thermolysis of 2,4-dihydro-2,4,5-trinitro-3H1,2,4-triazol-3-one (DTNTO): A new derivative of 3-nitro-1, 2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO)

A new derivative of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO, 2), viz., 2,4-dihydro-2,4,5-trinitro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-one (DTNTO, 3) has been obtained by nitration of NTO synthesized during this work using fuming nitric acid and acetic anhydride. The title compound 2 was obtained from 2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (TO, 1). The newly synthesized DTNTO has been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, H-1 and C-13 NMR. The DTA and DSC of (3) showed exothermic decomposition with peak temperature (T-max) of 264 degrees C. TG showed 61% weight loss for 3 in the temperature range of 194-264 degrees C. The sensitivity data obtained for the newly synthesized compound indicates its relatively high susceptibility towards external stimuli (Impact height, h(50%) explosion 80 cm, 3 kg drop weight and friction insensitive up to 25 kg) in comparison to NTO (h(50%) >100 cm, 3 kg drop weight and friction insensitive up to 36 kg). The theoretically predicted performance of compound 3 in terms of velocity of detonation (8.79 km/s) is intermediate to that of NTO (8.75 km/s) and RDX (8.93 km/s). The calculated CJ pressure and sound intensity for DTNTO are found superior in comparison to benchmark high explosives RDX and HMX. Its positive oxygen balance is an attractive feature from the point of view of its application as an eco-friendly oxidizer in propellant formulations.