Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography
Published on: April 24, 2018
Impact sensitivity and crystal lattice compressibility/free space
Peter Politzer1, Jane S Murray
1Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, 70148, USA, ppolitze@uno.edu.
Greater free space in explosive crystals generally correlates with higher impact sensitivity. This study examines 25 explosives, revealing specific trends within compound classes like nitramines and nitroaromatics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Crystallography
Background:
- Explosive compound sensitivity is influenced by physical properties.
- Compressibility and free space within crystal lattices are key factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between molecular free space and impact sensitivity in explosives.
- To expand upon and validate earlier research in this area.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 25 different explosive compounds.
- Estimation of available free space per molecule in crystal lattices.
- Correlation of free space data with experimentally determined impact sensitivities.
Main Results:
- A general trend shows increased impact sensitivity with greater estimated free space per molecule.
- Nitramine explosives exhibit a near-linear, gradual sensitivity increase with free space.
- Nitroaromatic compounds display a wide sensitivity range at similar intermediate free space levels.
- Most compound classes show a reasonable sensitivity-free space correlation, with FOX-7 as an outlier.
Conclusions:
- Molecular free space is a significant predictor of explosive impact sensitivity.
- Subgroup analysis reveals distinct sensitivity-free space relationships for different classes of explosives.
- The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of explosive material behavior and safety.
More Related Videos
10:36Stress Distribution During Cold Compression of Rocks and Mineral Aggregates Using Synchrotron-based X-Ray Diffraction
Published on: May 20, 2018
08:43Effect of Bending on the Electrical Characteristics of Flexible Organic Single Crystal-based Field-effect Transistors
Published on: November 7, 2016
Related Concept Videos
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
01:25Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects
02:46Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than...
01:26Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Stoichiometric Point Defects
02:18X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
02:54Trends in Lattice Energy: Ion Size and Charge