Work

Stabilizing Amorphous Solid Dispersions of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Herein we report on the successful stabilization of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in the amorphous state at ambient temperature using stabilizing polymers. Our study shows that while approaches based on melt-quenching and resonant acoustic mixing (operating as a milling technique) are partially successful, spray-drying results in fully amorphous samples that resist conversion to the crystalline state. While the time to onset of recrystallization was typically around 1 week, spray-drying TNT with poly(vinyl alcohol) produced a material that remained amorphous for a much longer time scale. Preliminary small-scale hazard testing suggests that the amorphous solid dispersions of TNT are insensitive to initiation by friction and mechanical impact, and appear to be less sensitive to initiation by electrostatic discharge compared to polycrystalline TNT.

Source: Crystal Growth & Design

DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01410

Authors: Monica C. Chandwani, Victor Stepanov, Rajen B. Patel, Carole A. Morrison, Colin R. Pulham

Institutions: University of Edinburgh, United States Army, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center

Language: English

Topic: Energetic Materials and Combustion

Subfield: Mechanics of Materials

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,500

Funder: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command