Density functional theory (DFT) method has been employed to study the effect of nitroamino group as a substituent in cyclopentane and cyclohexane, which usually construct the polycyclic or caged nitramines. Molecular structures were investigated at the B3LYP/6-31G** level, and isodesmic reactions were designed for calculating the group interactions. The results show that the group interactions accord with the group additivity, increasing with the increasing number of nitroamino groups. The distance between substituents influences the interactions. Detonation performances were evaluated by the Kamlet-Jacobs equations based on the predicted densities and heats of formation, while thermal stability and pyrolysis mechanism were studied by the computations of bond dissociation energy (BDE). It is found that the contributions of nitroamino groups to the detonation heat, detonation velocity, detonation pressure, and stability all deviate from the group additivity. Only 3a, 3b, and 9a–9c may be novel potential candidates of high energy density materials (HEDMs) according to the quantitative criteria of HEDM (ρ ≈ 1.9 g/cm3, D ≈ 9.0 km/s, P ≈ 40.0 GPa). Stability decreases with the increasing number of N-NO2 groups, and homolysis of N-NO2 bond is the initial step in the thermolysis of the title compounds. Coupled with the demand of thermal stability (BDE > 20 kcal/mol), only 1,2,4-trinitrotriazacyclohexane and 1,2,4,5-tetranitrotetraazacyclohexane are suggested as feasible energetic materials. These results may provide basic information for the molecular design of HEDMs.
