A simple, mild and general method has been developed for the preparation of alkyl nitramines bearing a halogenoalkoxylic moiety. From these reactive halogen intermediates, a few azidoalkoxyl alkyl nitramines have been produced as energetic plasticizers. This simple protocol allows azidonitramino ether plasticizers to be obtained from available precursors in high yields, as it is safe and viable for large-scale operations. The resulting products have been fully characterized by spectral methods, and their impact sensitivity, thermal transformations and burning properties were determined, thus allowing complete comparison to the analogues including other combinations of structural units. Such characterization of these new plasticizers illustrates the extent to which the nature and position of the functional units can be used to tune the above properties of these nitramines. All azidonitramino ethers are liquid with excellent energetic performance and are promising candidates for new environmentally friendly energetic materials.
Keywords: azide; burning rate; combustion; dialkyl ether; energetic plasticizer; impact sensitivity; nitramine; phase transition; synthesis; thermal decomposition; volatility.