Nitramine nitrates, formation

Oxidizers. The characteristics of the oxidizer affect the baUistic and mechanical properties of a composite propellant as well as the processibihty. Oxidizers are selected to provide the best combination of available oxygen, high density, low heat of formation, and maximum gas volume in reaction with binders. Increases in oxidizer content increase the density, the adiabatic flame temperature, and the specific impulse of a propellant up to a maximum. The most commonly used inorganic oxidizer in both composite and nitroceUulose-based rocket propellant is ammonium perchlorate. The primary combustion products of an ammonium perchlorate propellant and a polymeric binder containing C, H, and O are CO2, H2, O2, and HCl. Ammonium nitrate has been used in slow burning propellants, and where a smokeless exhaust is requited. Nitramines such as RDX and HMX have also been used where maximum energy is essential. 

The formation of chloramine as an intermediate, followed by reaction with nitric acid to produce the corresponding nitramine and HOC1, may explain the catalytic action of HC1 in the nitration of amines... 

The term nitrolysis is usually applied to a nitrating mechanism in which both the rupture of the C-N bond and the formation of a nitramine occur simultaneously with the formation of an alcohol which subsequently undergoes esterification (1) ... 

Tracer Studies on the Nitro lysis of Hexamine to RDX and HMX. The formation of RDX and/or HMX molecules from the nitration or nitrolysis of Hexamethylenetetramine (Hexamine) is a complex process and has been postulated to take place via two separate paths. One involves the selective cleavage of the Hexamine molecule to the appropriate cyclic nitramine (RDX, HMX or both) depending on the specific... 

In addition to the Ross-Schiessler process, utilising p-CH20 and AN, the synthesis of RDX/ HMX mixts has also been reported starting with other smail molecules (Ref 7), namely, methyl-amine nitrate methylene diamine dinitrate and nitramine (NH2N02) in combination with CH20. In these reactions, the intermediate formation of Hexamine or a cyclic analog, is not necessarily established... 

The most important color reaction for nitrate esters and nitramines is based on the formation of nitrite ions (NO2 ), upon reaction of these compounds with alkahs [31,32]. The nitrite ions are then detected by the classical Griess reaction [5,6]. 

The reaction of primary aliphatic amines and nitramines with nitronium salts also leads to deamination and the formation of alkyl nitrates. 

Nitrations of aromatic amines often involve the intermediate formation of N-nitramines, although these are rarely seen under the strongly acidic conditions of mixed acid nitration (Section 4.5). N,2,4,6-Tetranitro-N-methylaniline (tetryl) is an important secondary high explosive usually synthesized from the nitration of N,N-dimethylaniline or 2,4-dinitro-N-methylaniline. ° The synthesis of tetryl is discussed in Section 5.14. 

Depending on the amine substrate and the nitrating conditions used, it is not uncommon for an intermediate nitramine to undergo direct rearrangement to the ring-nitrated product without prior isolation, in which case, the formation of the nitramine as an intermediate can only be postulated. Due to the high o-selectivity often observed with this type of reaction the o/p-ratio can be very different to that where the aromatic ring is directly nitrated. 

If nitration under acidic conditions could only be used for the nitration of the weakest of amine bases its use for the synthesis of secondary nitramines would be severely limited. An important discovery by Wright and co-workers " found that the nitrations of the more basic amines are strongly catalyzed by chloride ion. This is explained by the fact that chloride ion, in the form of anhydrous zinc chloride, the hydrochloride salt of the amine, or dissolved gaseous hydrogen chloride, is a source of electropositive chlorine under the oxidizing conditions of nitration and this can react with the free amine to form an intermediate chloramine. The corresponding chloramines are readily nitrated with the loss of electropositive chlorine and the formation of the secondary nitramine in a catalytic cycle (Equations 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4). The mechanism of this reaction is proposed to involve chlorine acetate as the source of electropositive chlorine but other species may play a role. The success of the reaction appears to be due to the chloramines being weaker bases than the parent amines. 

Ordinarily, alkyl nitrate esters will not nitrate amines under neutral conditions. However, Schmitt, Bedford and Bottaro have reported the use of some novel electron-deficient nitrate esters for the direct At-nitration of secondary amines. The most useful of these is 2-(trifluoromethyl)-2-propyl nitrate, which nitrates a range of aliphatic secondary amines to the corresponding nitramines in good to excellent yields. Nitrosamine formation is insignificant in these reactions. 2-(Trifluoromethyl)-2-propyl nitrate cannot be used for the nitration of primary amines, or secondary amines containing ethylenediamine functionality like that in piperazine. Its use is limited with highly hindered amines or amines of diminished nucleophilicity due to inductive or steric effects. 

The reaction of dinitrogen pentoxide with primary aliphatic nitramines and amines leads to deamination and the formation of a nitrate ester as the major product. Consequently, dinitrogen pentoxide cannot be used for the synthesis of primary nitramines. In contrast, both primary and secondary arylamines undergo efficient A-nitration with dinitrogen pentoxide in chlorinated solvents. ... 

Methylenediamines are readily synthesized from the reaction of secondary amines with formaldehyde. Many aliphatic amines are too basic for direct nitration without a chloride catalyst, and even then, nitrosamine formation can be a problem. Their conversion into intermediate methylenediamines before nitration is therefore a useful route to secondary nitramines. The success of these nitrolysis reactions is attributed to the inherent low basicity of the methylene-diamine nitrogens. 

In view of the highly carcinogenic nature of many nitrosamines any experiments involving their isolation must be discouraged, and for this reason, this section has only been written for completeness. This high toxicity is unfortunate because the preparation of nitrosamines from the parent amines is often facile and they provide a route to highly pure nitramines. Other equally useful methods for the synthesis of nitramines, such as the chloride-catalyzed nitration of secondary amines, also suffer from the formation of nitrosamines in appreciable amounts and must also be viewed with caution. 

The above observations allow the selective formation of RDX, HMX or the two linear nitramines (247) and (248) by choosing the right reaction conditions. For the synthesis of the linear nitramine (247), with its three amino nitrogens, we would need high reaction acidity, but in the absence of ammonium nitrate. These conditions are achieved by adding a solution of hexamine in acetic acid to a solution of nitric acid in acetic anhydride and this leads to the isolation of (247) in 51 % yield. Bachmann and co-workers also noted that (247) was formed if the hexamine nitrolysis reaction was conducted at 0 °C even in the presence of ammonium nitrate. This result is because ammonium nitrate is essentially insoluble in the nitrolysis mixture at this temperature and, hence, the reaction is essentially between the hexamine and nitric acid-acetic anhydride. If we desire to form linear nitramine (248) the absence of ammonium nitrate should be coupled with low acidity. These conditions are satisfied by the simultaneous addition of a solution of hexamine in acetic acid and a solution of nitric acid in acetic anhydride, into a reactor vessel containing acetic acid. 

The chemistry of l,5-dinitroendomethylene-l,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane (239) (DPT) is interesting in the context of the nitramine products which can be obtained from its nitrolysis under different reaction conditions. The nitrolysis of DPT (239) with acetic anhydride-nitric acid mixtures in the presence of ammonium nitrate is an important route to HMX (4) and this has been discussed in Section 5.15.2. The nitrolysis of DPT (239) in the absence of ammonium nitrate leads to the formation of l,9-diacetoxy-2,4,6,8-tetranitro-2,4,6,8-tetraazanonane (248) the latter has found use in the synthesis of energetic polymers. 

The nitration of nitramine (153) with nitronium tetrafluoroborate, followed by neutralization of the resulting dinitraminic acid with ammonia, also generates ammonium dinitramide (152). Neutralization of this reaction with alkylamines, instead of ammonia, yields the corresponding alkylammonium salts of dinitramide. The nitration of ammonia with dinitrogen pentoxide (15 %) or nitronium salts like the tetrafluoroborate (25 %) yield ammonium dinitramide (152) through the initial formation of nitramine. 

The reaction of primary aromatic nitramines with nitrous acid is specific and leads to the formation of diazonium nitrate (Bamberger [23]). According to Stevens [24] this reaction is also a kind of reduction, and presumably may be represented as follows ... 

Very frequently the transition through urethanes is employed by treating the primary amine with chloroformate. The N-substituted urethane so obtained is nitrated by substituting the free N-hydrogen and then subjecting the product to alkaline hydrolysis which results in the formation of the salt of a primary nitramine and a base. The free nitramine is obtained by acidification. 

This scheme, however, has the disadvantage of ignoring the influence of the nitronium ion (NO ) on the reaction, whereas, as expounded in the chapter on nitration theories (Vol. I), the nitronium ion is of enormous importance for such a reaction. In this connection Lamberton [43] suggests alternative schemes which appear more probable. Scheme (8) leads to the formation of a nitramine and scheme (9) to a salt of nitric acid ... 

An unconfirmed hypothesis was also formulated that ammonium nitrate in the presence of sulphuric acid undergoes dehydration to the formation of nitramine (Vol. Ill) which is a strong and unstable explosive compound. 

N-nitration, leading to the formation of nitramines with the nitro group attached to a nitrogen atom of an amine or amide group ... 

An alkyl group is sometimes replaced by a nitro group. This happens particularly when nitrating amines to nitramines. As a classical example, the formation of trinitrophenylmethylnitramine (tetryl) from dimethylaniline can be mentioned (Vol. Ill)... 

Nitration of pyridines via rearrangement of nitramines has been studied. 4-Amino-3-bromopyridine forms, with nitric acid, the nitramine 9.67 in 85% yield 9.67 rearranges in sulfuric acid to 4-amino-3-bromo-5-nitro-pyridine (9.68) in 97% yield (62RC967). The rearrangement of 2-nitrami-no-4-nitropyridine (9.69) to 2-amino-3,4-dinitropyridine is accompanied by the formation of 4-nitro-2-pyridone (64T81), subsequently shown to arise via nitrosation (79T2895). 

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