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Dihydroxylammonium 5,5′-bistetrazole-1,1′-diolate (TKX-50) is a promising candidate for high-energy explosive (e.g. HMX), which can be used as the main component in composite explosive formulations processed through a melting method. In the present study, TKX-50-based explosive composites were prepared using 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) or TNT/wax as the carrier, and were compared with HMX-, 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO)-, and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-s-triazine (RDX)-based formulations. Crystal stability, surface micro-topography, thermal decomposition performance, mechanical property, thermal sensitivity, and mechanical sensitivity of the composites were comprehensively investigated. Overall, TKX-50-based formulations exhibited improved properties with a superior safety performance compared to HMX- and RDX-based formulations and better mechanical properties than NTO-based formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dihydroxylammonium 5,5′-bistetrazole-1,1′-diolate (TKX-50) is a newly synthesized explosive with excellent comprehensive properties: high energy storage, low impact sensitivity, and low toxicity. To understand and improve the crystal morphology of TKX-50, we reported the polymer consistent force field to simulate the crystal morphology of TKX-50 by growth morphology (GM) method. We then used this force field in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to predict the influences of additives on crystal facets of TKX-50. The calculated results indicate that ethanol, ethylene glycol, and acetic acid are more favorable to the spheroidization of TKX-50, which provides a theoretical support for the additive selection of crystalline system. Furthermore, we added the selected additives in the recrystallization system of TKX-50. The recrystallized samples possessed a small aspect ratio and were close to spherical in shape, which indicates that the experimental results are consistent with the simulated results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for purity analysis of dihydroxylammonium 5,5ʹ-bistetrazole-1,1ʹ-diolate (TKX-50) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established by optimizing the chromatographic conditions: the detection wavelength was set at 200 nm, and the sample was separated by reverse-phase column (SinoChrom ODS-BP, 4.6 mm × 200 mm, 5 μm) using binary mobile phase acetonitrile and water (volume ratio of 50/50) with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min at column temperature of 25°C. Normalization method, external standard method, and internal standard method were used to analyze the purity of TKX-50. The results indicate that the precision and accuracy of each method can satisfy the requirements of product analysis; however, the external standard method possesses higher accuracy and precision by comparison and is suggested to analyze the purity of TKX-50. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]