Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Thermal Behavior of 4,5-Dimethoxy-2-(dinitromethylene)imidazolidine

A new energetic material, 4,5-dimethoxy-2-(dinitromethylene)imidazolidine(DMDNI), was synthesized by the reaction of 4,5-dihydroxyl-2-(dinitromethylene)-imidazolidine(DDNI) and methanol, and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. DMDNI crystallized in triclinic space group P, with crystal data a=0.4324(4) nm, b=1.3599(11) nm, c=1.7503(14) nm, α=77.406(14)°, β=84.494(15)°, γ=87.976(14)°, V=0.9997(14) nm³, Z=4, μ＝0.140 mm^-1, F(000)=488, D_c=1.556 g/cm³, R₁=0.0773 and wR₂=0.1574. Thermal decomposition of DMDNI was studied, and its thermal decomposition process was divided into two stages. The first stage was a mel- ting process and the second stage was an exothermic decomposition process. The enthalpy, apparent activation energy and pre-exponential constant of the exothermic decomposition reaction are -491.5 J/g, 142.3 kJ/mol and 10^14.24 s^-1, respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion is 162.47℃. DMDNI has a lower thermal stability than DDNI but it is close to that of 4,5-diacetoxyl-2-(dinitromethylene)-imidazolidine(DADNI).