Tetranitroacetimidic Acid: A High Oxygen Oxidizer and Potential Replacement for Ammonium Perchlorate

Considerable
work has been focused on developing replacements for
ammonium perchlorate (AP), a primary choice for solid rocket and missile
propellants, due to environmental concerns resulting from the release
of perchlorate into groundwater systems, which has been linked to
thyroid cancer. Additionally, the generation of hydrochloric acid
contributes to high concentrations of acid rain and to ozone layer
depletion. En route to synthesizing salts that contain cationic FOX-7,
a novel, high oxygen-containing oxidizer, tetranitro­acetimidic
acid (TNAA), has been synthesized and fully characterized. The properties
of TNAA were found to be exceptional, with a calculated specific impulse
exceeding that of AP, leading to its high potential as a replacement
for AP. TNAA can be synthesized easily in a one-step process by the
nitration of FOX-7 in high yield (>93%). The synthesis, properties,
and chemical reactivity of TNAA have been examined.