Single Step Synthesis of gem-Dinitro Methyl-1,2,4-triazole and Its Hydroxylamine Salt: An Alternative to the FOX-7 and Other Benchmark Explosives

gem-Dinitro methyl based high-energy-density material 5-(dinitromethylene)-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazole (2) and its hydroxylamine salt (4) were synthesized for the first time in a single step and characterized. Further, the structure of 2 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) studies. Interestengly, both the compounds show excellent density (> 1.83 g cm-3), detonation velocity (> 8700 m s–1), pressure (> 30 GPa) and are insensitive toward mechanical stimuli such as impact and friction sensitivity. Considering their synthetic fesibility and balanced energetic performance, compounds 2 and 4 show future prospects as potential next-generation energetic materials for the replacenent of many presently used benchmark high energy density materials such as RDX, FOX-7 and highly insensitive H-FOX.