Energetic Materials Laboratory
Department of Chemistry
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Dr. Srinivas Dharavath
Assistant 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
Highly Promising Primary Explosive: A Metal-Free, Fluoro-Substituted Azo-Triazole with Unmatched Safety, and Performance
A primary explosive is a perfect chemical compound for starting ignition in military and commercial uses. Over the past century, the quest for lead-free, environmentally friendly primary explosives has been a significant challenge and long-standing goal. Here, an innovative organic primary explosive, (E)-1,2-bis(3-azido-5-(trifluoromethyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)diazene (4), has been designed and synthesized through a straightforward three-step reaction from commercially available reagents. Importantly, this compound integrated two trifluoromethyl and azido groups into the N,N’-azo-1,2,4-triazole backbone to enhance performance and safety. With this combination, it meets stringent criteria for safer, environmentally friendly primary explosives: being metal, perchlorate-free, possessing high density, excellent priming ability, unique sensitivities to non-explosive stimuli. It shows robust environmental resistance, good thermal stability, and effective detonation performance and also can be effectively initiated with laser. Moreover, in the detonation test, compound 4 successfully detonated 500 mg of PETN with an ultralow minimum primer charge (MPC) of 40 mg, similar to traditional primary explosive LA (MPC: 40 mg) and outperforming organic metal free primary explosives ICM-103 (MPC: 60 mg) and DDNP (MPC: 70 mg). The high detonation power, combined with its straightforward synthesis, cost-effectiveness, and ease in making large scale, makes it a superior alternative to currently used primary explosives like lead azide (LA) and diazodinitrophenol (DDNP).
Employing the trifluoromethyl group on 5/5 fused triazolo[4,3-b][1,2,4]triazole backbone: a viable strategy for attaining balanced energetics
In this study, we synthesized trifluoromethyl-substituted bis-triazole nitrogen-rich compounds (3-5) using a simple, cost-effective method. The newly made compounds were characterized using NMR, IR, elemental analysis, TGA-DSC, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (for compounds 3 and 4). They demonstrated high density (1.82-1.92 g cm-3), moderate detonation performance (7567-7905 m s-1), good thermal stability (146-215 °C), and low sensitivity to impact (40 J) and friction (360 N), offering their high potential nature for cationic component in energetic salts, defense and civilian applications.