Theoretical Prediction of Structures and Properties of 2,4,6-Trinitro-1,3,5-Triazine (TNTA) Green Energetic Materials from DFT and ReaxFF Molecular Modeling

Abstract

Nitryl cyanide, O2NCN, as a new high-energy molecule, has not yet been successfully synthesized. It has prompted us to conduct a theoretical study of its possible space structures and properties. The RESP charges and the most stable spatial structures demonstrate that crystal morphology is affected by both the main nonbonded interactions and the molecular arrangement. The crystal structure prediction indicated that there are seven structures, namely P1, P21, P212121, P21/c, Pna21, Pbca, and C2/c. The most stable space structure is likely to be Pna21 and the corresponding cell parameters are Z = 4, a = 8.69 Å, b = 9.07 Å, c = 9.65 Å, and α = β = γ = 90.0°. To further study the intermolecular interactions of TNTA, a series of theoretical analyses were employed, including Hirshfeld surface analysis and fingerprint plots. The pyrolysis mechanism and properties show that high temperatures can promote decomposition. The systematic search approach can be a new strategy to identify structures effectively and has the potential to provide systematic theoretical guidance for the synthesis of TNTA.

Keywords

• crystal morphology
• cell parameters
• intermolecular interaction
• Hirshfeld surface
• pyrolysis mechanism