Nitrate esters acid-sensitive, synthesis

An extremely mild method for the synthesis of nitrate esters from easily oxidized or acid-sensitive alcohols involves the decomposition of a nitratocarbonate (29). The nitratocar-bonate is prepared in situ from metathesis between a chloroformate (reaction between phosgene and an alcohol) and silver nitrate in acetonitrile in the presence of pyridine at room temperature. Under these conditions the nitratocarbonate readily decomposes to yield the corresponding nitrate ester and carbon dioxide. Few examples of these reactions are available in the literature and they are limited to a laboratory scale. 

Treatment of DPT (239) with dinitrogen pentoxide in pure nitric acid leads to the isolation of the nitrate ester (249), an unstable explosive which is highly sensitive to impact and readily undergoes hydrolysis. A low nitration temperature favours the formation of (249) and its presence during the nitrolysis of hexamine is clearly undesirable. The nitrolysis of DPT (239) with one equivalent of pure nitric acid in an excess of acetic anhydride yields 1-acetomethyl-3,5,7-trinitro-l,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane (251), a useful starting material for the synthesis of other explosives. ... 

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