Theoretical study on initial decomposition paths of energetic materials featuring RDX ring

Abstract

The molecular properties of RDX are affected by the introduction of different functional groups, and the decomposition process of these analogues is studied in this paper. DFT method is used to study the initial decomposition reaction paths of 30 high energy materials based RDX skeleton. In the nitro cleavage reaction, the energy barrier become relatively low by introducing CH(NO2)2 or C(NO2)3 groups on the C site of the six membered ring. In the ring opening reaction, the ring opening process is easier to proceed by introducing NH2 or NHNH2 groups on the C site of the six membered ring.