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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
A DFT study on the structures, properties, and interfacial interactions of cage-like HMX@cyclo[n]carbons energetic
Qiong Wu1, Qijun He2, Zhihao Zheng2
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Structural Materials and Application Technology, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing, 211167, China. qwunjit@163.com.
Context:
In this work, a strategy for solving the problems in an actual application of energetic materials like the safety and combustion problems was proposed. A novel kind of carbon material with much smaller size than the traditional one, that is the cyclo[n]carbons (Cn, n = 10, 14), was used to form energetic composites (HMX@mCn, m = 1-4) with the representative compound (HMX) of energetic materials with high energy. The small size of cyclo[n]carbons may provide high flexibility for adjusting the carbon content in the energetic composites to better control the combustion behavior and energy-releasing efficiency. Our calculations show that Cn can form stable composites with HMX through different interactions synergistically. The electrostatic potential and electronic structure of HMX can be regulated by Cn, showing the potential for modulating the corresponding performance like the thermal decomposition and safety properties. For example, due to the effective reduction and dispersion of high-positive ESP, the anti-impact property of HMX was enhanced by Cn. Also, due to improvement in the electrostatic sensitivity values, the anti-static property of HMX@mCn composites is much better than that of HMX. In all, based on the proposed strategy, various properties of formed HMX@mCn composites may all be better than those of HMX, showing the multifunctional features. This study may provide a perspective for effectively solving the existing problems of energetic materials in practical applications.
Methods:
All of the calculations on the structures were carried out by using the Gaussian 09 software at the M06-2X/6-311G(d,p)level. In addition, further calculations on the properties and interactions were performed by using the Multiwfn software.
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