Ionic Polymers as a New Structural Motif for High-Energy-Density Materials

Energetic materials have been used for nearly two centuries
in
military affairs and to cut labor costs and expedite laborious processes
in mining, tunneling, construction, demolition, and agriculture, making
a tremendous contribution to the world economy. Yet there has been
little advancement in the development of altogether new energetic
motifs despite long-standing research efforts to develop superior
materials. We report the discovery of new energetic compounds of exceptionally
high energy content and novel polymeric structure which avoid the
use of lead and mercury salts common in conventional primary explosives.
Laboratory tests indicate the remarkable performance of these Ni-
and Co-based energetic materials, while DFT calculations indicate
that these are possibly the most powerful metal-based energetic materials
known to date, with heats of detonation comparable with those of the
most powerful organic-based high explosives currently in use.