Synthesis and Theoretical Studies of a New Insensitive Explosive, 2’-Methyl-3-nitro-2’H-[1,3’-bi(1,2,4-triazole)]-5,5’-diamine

A new insensitive energetic material 2’-methyl-3-nitro-2’H-[1,3’-bi(1,2,4-triazole)]-5,5’-diamine (1) was prepared by a three-step synthesis from commercially available chemicals. The energetic title compound was comprehensively characterized by various means, including FT-IR, multinuclear (1H, 13C, 14N) NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, HPLC and thermal analysis. The sensitivities of the synthesized material towards various external stimuli (impact, friction) were determined according to the BAM method. The optimized structure and related thermodynamic parameters were obtained at the DFT-B3LYP/6-31+G** theoretical level. The detonation properties of the material were also predicted according to the Kamlet-Jacobs formulae and the Monte-Carlo method. The results show that the density, heat of formation, detonation velocity, detonation pressure, impact sensitivity and purity were 1.83 g/cm3, 369 kJ/mol, 7.52 km/s, 25.4 GPa, 82.3 J and 97.7%, respectively. In addition, the compound was an insensitive high explosive which could meet the requirements of high energetic materials.