Explosive Properties of 4,4’,5,5’-Tetranitro-2,2’-bi-1H-imidazole Dihydrate

This paper reports measured explosive properties of 4,4’,5,5’-tetranitro-2,2’-bi-1H-imidazole dihydrate (TNBI•2H2O). Non-isothermal kinetics analysis, calorimetric measurements, detonability tests, small-scale shock reactivity tests (SSRT), detonation velocity measurements and cylinder tests were performed. The results of the cylinder tests were used to determine the acceleration ability of TNBI•2H2O. Some experiments were conducted also with TNT, NTO, FOX-7 and RDX. Our experimental studies have shown that TNBI•2H2O is a thermodynamically stable compound, surpassing TNT with regard to its energetic and detonation parameters. The results of the SSRT indicate that this material has better performance in small charges than RDX, FOX-7 and NTO.