Taming nitroformate through encapsulation with nitrogen-rich hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks

Jichuan Zhang; Yongan Feng; Richard J Staples; Jiaheng Zhang; Jean'ne M Shreeve

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22475-8

Taming nitroformate through encapsulation with nitrogen-rich hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks

Nat Commun. 2021 Apr 9;12(1):2146. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22475-8.

Authors

Jichuan Zhang^{1

2

3}, Yongan Feng⁴, Richard J Staples⁵, Jiaheng Zhang^{6

7}, Jean'ne M Shreeve⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA.
² Research Centre of Flexible Printed Electronic Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China.
³ Zhuhai Institute of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Biomaterials Research Center, Zhuhai, China.
⁴ School of Environmental and Safety Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, China.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
⁶ Research Centre of Flexible Printed Electronic Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China. zhangjiaheng@hit.edu.cn.
⁷ Zhuhai Institute of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Biomaterials Research Center, Zhuhai, China. zhangjiaheng@hit.edu.cn.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA. jshreeve@uidaho.edu.

Abstract

Owing to its simple preparation and high oxygen content, nitroformate [^-C(NO₂)₃, NF] is an extremely attractive oxidant component for propellants and explosives. However, the poor thermostability of NF-based derivatives has been an unconquerable barrier for more than 150 years, thus hindering its application. In this study, the first example of a nitrogen-rich hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF-NF) is designed and constructed through self-assembly in energetic materials, in which NF anions are trapped in pores of the resulting framework via the dual force of ionic and hydrogen bonds from the strengthened framework. These factors lead to the decomposition temperature of the resulting HOF-NF moiety being 200 °C, which exceeds the challenge of thermal stability over 180 °C for the first time among NF-based compounds. A large number of NF-based compounds with high stabilities and excellent properties can be designed and synthesized on the basis of this work.