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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
A novel energetic cocrystal composed of CL-20 and 1-methyl-2,4,5-trinitroimidazole with high energy and low
Pengbao Lian1, Luyao Zhang2, Hongping Su2
1School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, North University of China, College Road 3, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030051, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
A cocrystal explosive comprising 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) and 1-methyl-2,4,5-trinitroimidazole (MTNI) (molar ratio, 1:1) was synthesized. The structure of the cocrystal was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Its structure was further determined by powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry which showed that its morphology was different from the morphology of the mechanical mixture of two raw materials. The decomposition temperature of the cocrystal is lower than that of CL-20 and MTNI. The calculated detonation performance is slightly lower than that of HMX, but the cocrystal has excellent sensitivity performance relative to that of CL-20, even lower than that of RDX. These features make this cocrystal ideal to be used in applications with low-sensitivity requirements.
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