Property and Preparation of Diglycerine Tetranitrate

Diglycerine tetranitrate, shortly called nitro diglycerine, can be prepared by nitration of diglycerine. 

Nitro diglycerine is a stickier liquid explosive than nitroglycerine. It is insoluble to water and nonhygroscopic. It can be soluble to most of organic solvents and partly dissolve collodion. Its chemical stability is similar with nitroglycerine. Its remarkable advantage is that it would not freeze at a temperature under —35 °C. 

Glycerine can be polymerized with a small amount of sulfuric acid at 130-160 °C. If a small amount of sodium carbonate or sodium sulfite of about 0.5 % is added into glycerine, diglycerine ether of 2,2, 3,3-tetrahydroxyl ether (sym bis(2,3-di-hydroxypropyl)ether) is produced with water, as expressed in the following equation. 

The nitration of diglycerine to nitro diglycerine is similar with the method of glycerine nitration, but has a little difference because of the difference properties of raw materials. The major reaction is  

CH2OH-CHOH-CH2-O-CH2-CHOH CH2OH - CH2ONO2-CHONO2-CH2-O-CH2 CHONO2-CH2ONO2 + H2O 

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