Crystal Structure and Characterization of the Well-Known Plasticizers Ethylene Glycol Dinitrate, Diethylene Glycol Dinitrate and Triethylene Glycol Dinitrate

Ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN), diethylene glycol dinitrate (DEGDN) and triethylene glycol dinitrate (TEGDN) are used as plasticizers in propellant mixtures and have been known for more than 100 years. Despite the industrial application and the long history of these compounds, the crystal structures of all three compounds, which are liquids at room temperature, have not yet been determined. Therefore, in this work the crystal structures were determined by low-temperature X-ray diffraction and thus the bonding properties and crystal packing in the solid state could be compared. The densities at room temperature were measured by gas-pycnometry and the energetic properties were calculated using the EXPLO5 code.