Tetrazole-Based Energetic Metal-Organic Frameworks: Impacts of Metals and Ligands on Explosive Properties

Abstract

New energetic materials are required to compensate for the shortcomings of the current ones. Especially secondary explosives are the ones with low-sensitivity, while maintaining energetic performance similar to those of primary ones, and particularly useful when safety must be ensured. Herein, we report two energetic metal-organic frameworks (eMOFs), eMOF-1, [Mn-5(mtz)(6.1)(atz)(2.9)(NO3)] (mtz=5-methyltetrazole, atz=5-aminotetrazole) and eMOF-2, [Cu(mtz)(2)], both of which have unique detonation and sensitivity properties. In particular, eMOF-1, firstly reported here, shows better energetic performance when compared with the previously reported material, Cd-based mtz MOF, an isostructural series. In addition, eMOF-2 synthesized in water shows a great detonation performance, whereas isotopological Zn-based mtz MOF did not show a meaningful performance as an explosive. Therefore, such reticular approach, i. e. replacing metal ions or ligands in isostructural frameworks, can be quite effective for the development of a new breed of energetic materials.