Oxalic acid dinitrate ester

The above discussion clearly revealed that the covalently bound oxalic acid dinitrate ester is the most promising candidate as a high oxidizer and potential replacement for AP in this series. In order to evaluate its thermodynamic and kinetic stability we calculated the decomposition into C02 and N02. The reaction enthalpy of AH = 56.5 kcal mol1 clearly indicates that oxalic acid dinitrate ester is (as expected) thermodynamically unstable with respect to its decomposition into C02 and N02. 

Covalently bound and ionic nitronium and nitrosonium oxalate were researched with respect to their potential use as energetic materials or oxidizers for solid rocket motors. None of these compounds can be expected to be a good high explosive. However, the covalent molecule oxalic acid dinitrate ester, 02N—02C—C02—N02, was identified to be a potentially interesting oxidizer. 

Oxalic acid dinitrate ester, 02N—02C—C02—N02 is metastable with respect to decomposition into C02 and N02. The reaction barrier (transition state) for the monomolecular dissociation was calculated to be 37 kcal mol-1 at CBS-4M level of theory. 

The results obtained in this study should encourage synthetic work in order to prepare oxalic acid dinitrate ester, O2N—O2C—CO2—NO2 on a laboratory scale and to experimentally evaluate its properties, first and foremost its thermal stability. 

Esters of this constitution include di(hydroxyethyl)-oxamide dinitrate [107] and di-(/S,y-dihydroxypropyl)-oxamide tetranitrate. The latter was first prepared by Domanski and Skudrzyk [103] by heating an oxalic acid ester with dihydroxy-propylamine to form an amide which was then nitrated, as shown below ... 

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