Identification of potential thermostable and powerful explosive : Investigation of TOATF

Abstract. The quest for insensitive explosives has been running for decades. From the vast amount of research undertaken in this field, a number of valuable energetic compounds have evolved, which showed reduced sensitivity to various mechanical stimuli, such as impact and friction. However, the thermal sensitivity remains as one of the most difficult challenges to be taken, and known explosives exhibiting both a very high decomposition temperature (higher than 300°C) AND a high performance are very scarce. In order to identify new energetic compounds as realistic targets for demanding applications, two routes were explored: database screening and literature survey. This study allowed us to identify TOATF, an energetic molecule with outstanding expected performance compared to HMX and a good thermostability (> 260°C). The original conditions^1,2,3 were employed then improved to achieve its synthesis in an overall 35% yield, allowing us to characterize TOATF which exhibits the expected thermostability and moderate mechanical sensitivity. 1. T., V., Batog; V., Y., Rozhkov; L., S., Konstaninova; V., E., Eman; M., O., Dekaprilevich; Y., T., Struchkov; S., E., Semenov; O., V., Lebedev; L., I., Khmelnitskii; Russ. Chem. Bull., May, 1996, Vol. 45, No. 5 2. Chinese Journal of Energetic Materials, 2009, February, Vol. 17, No. 1 3. V., A., Eman; M., S., Sukhanov; O., V., Lebedev; L. V., Batog; L., S., Konstantinova; V., Y., Rozhkov; M., O., Dekaprilevich; Y., T., Struchkov; L., I., Khmelnitskii; Mendeleev Commun., 1997, 7(1), 5-7