Salts of methylated 5-aminotetrazoles with energetic anions

1-methyl-5-aminotetrazole (4, MAT) can easily be protonated by strong acids, yielding known but largely uninvestigated 1-methyl-5-aminotetrazolium nitrate (4a) and perchlorate (4b). Methylation, rather than protonation, of 4 with iodomethane followed by the exchange of the iodide (5a) for nitrate (5b), perchlorate (5c), azide (5d), and dinitramide (5e) yields a new family of energetic methylated aminotetrazole salts. In all cases, stable salts were obtained and fully characterized by vibrational (IR, Raman) spectroscopy, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and X-ray structure determination. Compounds 4a, 4b, and 5c crystallize in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n, whereas compounds 5b and 5e crystallize in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and 5d in the orthorhombic Fddd. Initial safety testing (impact, friction, and electrostatic sensitivity) and thermal stability measurements (DSC) were also carried out. The MAT salts all exhibit good thermal stabilities (decomposition above 150 degrees C). The constant volume energies of combustion (DeltacU) of 4a, 5b, 5d, and 5e were determined to be -2510(10) cal/g, -3190(30) cal/g, -4500(100) cal/g, and -2570(70) cal/g, respectively, experimentally using oxygen bomb calorimetry. From the experimentally determined density, chemical composition and energies of formation (back calculated from the heats of combustion), the detonation pressures and velocities of 4a (8100 m/s, 25.6 GPa), 5b (7500 m/s, 20.2 GPa), 5d (8200 m/s, 21.7 GPa), and 5e (7500 m/s, 21.2 GPa) were predicted using the EXPLO5 code.