1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine Explained

1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine (TNAZ) is an explosive heterocyclic compound that has been considered as a potential replacement for TNT because of its low melting point (101 °C) and good thermal stability (up to 240 °C). TNAZ was first synthesized by Archibald et al. in 1990.^[1] Several synthesis routes are known, and bulk production of several hundred kilogram batches has been demonstrated at Los Alamos National Laboratory.^{[2] [3]}

Properties

The compound crystallizes in an orthorhombic lattice with the space group Pbca. Thermolysis occurs starting around 240 °C - 250 °C with decomposition products that include nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrous acid, carbon dioxide, and formaldehyde. It has a heat of decomposition of 6343 kJ/kg, and a detonation pressure of 36.4 GPa.^[4]

Notes and References

1. 10.1021/jo00296a066. Synthesis and x-ray crystal structure of 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine. The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 55. 9. 2920–2924. 1990. Archibald. T. G. Gilardi. Richard. Baum. K. George. Clifford.
2. Coburn . Michael D. . Hiskey . Michael A. . Archibald . Thomas G. . Scale-up and waste-minimization of the Los Alamos process for 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine (TNAZ) . Waste Management . January 1998 . 17 . 2–3 . 143–146 . 10.1016/S0956-053X(97)10013-7 . 1998WaMan..17..143C .
3. Jalový . Zdenek . Zeman . Svatopluk . Suceska . Muhamed . Vávra . Pave . Dudek . Kamil . Rajic . Masa . 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine (TNAZ). Part I. Syntheses and properties . Journal of Energetic Materials . 1 June 2001 . 19 . 2 . 219–239 . 10.1080/07370650108216127 . 2001JEnM...19..219J . 98003295 . en . 0737-0652.
4. 10.1016/S0040-4039(00)61673-8. Synthesis of 1,3,3-trinitroazetidine. Tetrahedron Letters. 34. 42. 6677–6680. 1993. Axenrod. Theodore. Watnick. Clara. Yazdekhasti. Hamid. Dave. Paritosh R.