Estimated detonation performance of nitroazetidine-based isomers

The estimated detonation velocities for a series of nitroazetidine-based regio- and stereoisomers in both liquid and powder forms have been determined using laser-induced air shock from energetic materials (LASEM). LASEM is a nondetonative technique that enables rapid pre-screening of novel energetic materials using milligram quantities of material—prior to scale-up and larger scale testing. While the calculated detonation velocities for the isomers are very similar (7.744-8.042 km/s), larger variations in their estimated detonation velocities via LASEM were observed. We attribute the differences between samples primarily to their relative purities, although we cannot rule out the influence of stereochemistry on the energy release behavior based on the best-performing stereoisomer. Slightly higher than expected detonation velocities were estimated for two of the isomers, while the rest had estimated detonation velocities 1.9-6.5% lower than predicted. Scale-up, formulation, and detonation testing are required to confirm the detonation velocities, although this work suggests further efforts are needed to purify the materials.