1998/12/15 by U. Bemm, Henric Östmark · 2 citations
Engineering · Chemistry · Materials Science · #Energetic Materials and Combustion #Crystallography and molecular interactions #Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials
paper · doi:10.1107/s0108270198007987
openalex publication_date 1998/12/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The title compound (C2H4N4O4) is a novel and interesting high explosive with high performance and low sensitivity. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of the compound show that the molecules in the crystal structure have bond lengths and bond angles as expected for this type of push–pull ethylene. There are two intramolecular hydrogen bonds present between the nitro-O atoms and the amino-H atoms. The geometry of the molecule indicates that there is extensive π conjugation present. The molecular packing is built up by infinite two-dimensional wave-shaped layers, with extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding within the layers and ordinary van der Waals interactions between the layers. The crystal packing explains some of the physico–chemical properties of the compound such as the absence of a melting point, its low solubility and its low sensitivity to friction and impact compared with the common high explosive RDX (1,3,5-triaza-1,3,5-trinitrocyclohexane).