Multicomponent Crystallization of Energetic Materials

Abstract

Multicomponent crystallization (cocrystallization and solvate formation) offers the unique ability to post-synthetically alter the properties of a materials through noncovalent interactions between two or more molecular components. Significant application of multicomponent crystallization within pharmaceuticals, organic semiconductors, non-linear optical materials has more recently been joined by energetic materials. For energetic compounds, both cocrystallization and solvate formation have been shown to modify critical performance properties such as a materials density, impact/thermal sensitivity, and detonation velocity/pressure. The design and synthesis of multicomponent crystals derived from two energetic components will be discussed with detailed analysis of the crystal structures for each novel energetic and the effect of packing/intermolecular interaction on materials properties. The impact sensitivity of the materials, analyzed through small-scale impact drop tests, will be used to stress the significance of multicomponent crystallization for its ability to design both primary and secondary energetic materials.