High-pressure behavior of a novel, nitrogen-rich energetic material

Energetic materials are of great interest in energy and defense applications. In the search for new energetic materials with improved properties, such as reduced environmental impact, a crystalline solid Triaminoguanidinium 1-methyl-5-nitriminotetrazolate (TAG), C$_{3}$H$_{12}$N$_{12}$O$_{2}$, has recently been synthesized (Klap\"{o}tke et. al. 2008). We have studied the properties of TAG under static compression, and under reaction initiation at high pressure, using Raman and IR spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. TAG appears to remain a stable, crystalline solid up to at least 35 GPa at room temperature. Laser initiation at 10-15 GPa reveals a rapid self-propagating reaction (deflagration) that consumes the sample, similar to other energetic materials such as nitromethane. Post-initiation products include crystalline molecular nitrogen (delta-phase), and nitrogen crystallites with regular defects. The formation of bulk molecular nitrogen during deflagration - in both phase segregated and impurity-hosting forms - distinguishes TAG from other known energetic materials, and suggests a pathway for the generation of novel phases from element-enriched energetic substances.