A new explosive: Melt-castable nitrate ester with high explosive energy

Friday, October 10, 2008 - 06:35 in Physics & Chemistry

Since the discovery of nitroglycerin in 1846, the nitrate ester group of compounds has been known for its explosive properties. A whole series of other nitrate esters have been subsequently put to use as explosives and fuels. A research team led by David E. Chavez at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) has now developed a novel tetranitrate ester. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the compound has a particularly interesting characteristic profile: it is solid at room temperature, is a highly powerful explosive, and can be melt-cast into the desired shape.

Read the whole article on Physorg

More from Physorg

Related

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox!