Thermal Decomposition of 4‐Nitroimidazole Catalyzed by Pb(NO3)2

The thermal decomposition of 4‐nitroimidazole catalyzed by Pb(NO₃)₂ was studied by the combination technique of in situ thermolysis cell with rapid‐scan Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (thermolysis/RSFT‐IR). The results showed that the decomposition of 4‐nitroimidazole began with the split of the C–NO₂ bond in the temperature range of 185–210 °C. The strongly oxidative product NO₂ destroyed the instable annulus of 4‐nitroimidazole instantly, all the other C?N, C?C, C–H and N–H bonds of the five membered ring were broken simultaneously, and the detected gas products of 4‐nitroimidazole decomposition were NO₂, CO₂ and CO.