Detonation Velocity Measurement of a Hydrogen Peroxide Solvate of CL‐20

Abstract

Synthesis and development of new energetic molecules is a resource‐intensive process, yielding materials with relatively unpredictable performance properties. Cocrystallization and crystalline solvate formation have been explored as possible routes towards developing new energetic materials that reduce the initial investment required for discovery and performance uncertainty because existing energetic molecules with known properties serve as the constituents. The formation of a hydrogen peroxide (HP) solvate of CL‐20 was previously reported and has a density comparable to that of ϵ‐CL‐20, the densest and most stable polymorph of CL‐20. CL‐20/HP produces a second crystalline form, which was unexpected given the high density of the original CL‐20/HP solvate. Both forms were predicted to have improved detonation performance relative to that of ϵ‐CL‐20. In this work, the detonation velocity of a solvate of CL‐20/HP is measured and compared to that of CL‐20. Using the measured enthalpy of formation, the solvate was predicted to detonate 80 m s−1 faster at a powder density of 1.4 g cm−3; however, experimentally, the solvate detonates 300 m s−1 faster than CL‐20. Thermochemical predictions are also used to show that the solvate detonates 100 m s−1 faster than ϵ‐CL‐20 at the theoretical maximum density, making it the first energetic cocrystal or solvate of ϵ‐CL‐20 predicted to detonate faster than CL‐20 at full density.