Radiolytic Behavior of Dinitrotoluene (DNT)

Little is known about the consequences of irradiating explosives, and the wide variety of energetic functional groups (FGs) and backbone structures that explosives employ greatly complicates making general observations. Previous efforts by our lab have focused on alkane-based molecules which often are efficient at delivering energy to the energetic FG. In this study, we used all six isomers of dinitrotoluene (DNT), a derivative of trinitrotoluene (TNT) based on the hydrocarbon aromatic ring toluene, in order to study how the ring structure in addition to nitro group positions affect the stability of the molecule. The isomers were either purchased or synthesized, then irradiated using a ⁶⁰Co source located at Sandia National Laboratories. Chemical analysis before and after irradiation was completed using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography - time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS) while radical stabilization and electronic effects were probed using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry.