Energetic Materials Laboratory
Department of Chemistry
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Dr. Srinivas Dharavath
Associate Professor
Our research group design and synthesize various nitrogen-rich azoles, fused and strained rings containing small molecules which are highly dense, thermally stable, and insensitive towards mechanical stimuli for 'Green' and 'Environmentally friendly' high energy materials (HEM) applications. So far, we have synthesized various poly-nitrogen containing small energetic molecules and salts from commercially available cheap starting materials as HEMs in a simple and straightforward manner. Few synthesized molecules are a better replacement for the existing benchmark energetic materials that meet the requirements of present and future civil, defense, and space applications.
Recent Articles
Synergizing Hydrazine Co-Crystal with Hydrazine Salt of TNAE: A Novel Strategy for Developing Highly Insensitive Explosives
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The first-ever combination of di-hydrazine co-crystallization with the tetrahydrazinium salt of 1,1,2,2-tetranitroaminoethane (TNAE) has been successfully achieved, resulting in highly stable energetic materials with excellent performance. This transformation converts the highly sensitive and hygroscopic TNAE moiety into balanced compounds 2 and 3, featuring favorable densities (1.64–1.67 g/cm³), exceptional nitrogen and oxygen content (>88%), outstanding detonation properties (VOD: 9481–9637 m s-1; DP: 32.49–32.97 GPa), and high insensitivity (IS > 40 J; FS > 360 N). These enhanced properties position the compounds as strong alternatives to high-performing É›-CL-20 (VOD: 9455 m s-1; DP: 46.7 GPa; IS: 4 J). This pioneering method underscores the synergistic potential of co-crystallisation and energetic salt, opening new avenues in the development of advanced energetic materials.
Employing Nitrogen–Sulfur Synergy: 1,2,3-Triazole-Thiadiazole-Based Energetic Materials
In this study, we synthesized energetic materials integrating thiadiazole and triazole moieties. The newly developed compounds were thoroughly characterized using NMR, IR, elemental analysis, TGA-DSC, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (for compound 3). These compounds exhibited acceptable properties, including high densities (1.88–1.92 g cm–3), moderate to good detonation performance (VOD: 6383–8128 m s–1), good thermal stability (143–238 °C), and less sensitivity to impact (>15 J) and friction (360 N). Notably, compounds 4 and 8 achieved superior detonation velocities compared to nearly all reported sulfur-based energetic materials to date. This work highlights the significance of triazole-thiadiazole frameworks in the development and fine-tuning of energetic materials.