Octanitrocubane

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Octanitrocubane
Octanitrocubane IUPAC name
Chemical formula	C₈N₈O₁₆
Molar mass	464.1296 g/mol
Shock sensitivity	Low
Friction sensitivity	Low
Density	2 g/cm³
Explosive velocity	10,100 m/s
RE factor	2.7
Melting point
Autoignition temperature
Appearance
CAS number
UN number	none
PubChem	[1]
SMILES	O=N(=O)C12C3(N(=O)=O)C4(N(=O)=O)C1(N(=O)=O) C5(N(=O)=O)C2(N(=O)=O)C3(N(=O)=O)C45N(=O)=O

Octanitrocubane (molecular formula: C₈(NO₂)₈) is a powerful high explosive that, like TNT, is shock-insensitive (not readily detonated by shock). The octanitrocubane molecule has the same chemical structure as cubane (C₈H₈) except all eight hydrogen (H) atoms are each replaced by nitro (NO₂) groups.

Octanitrocubane is thought to have 20 to 25 percent greater performance than HMX (octogen), the state-of-the-art military explosive as of year 2000. This increase in power is due to its highly expansive breakdown into 8CO₂ + 4N₂, as well as to the presence of strained chemical bonds in the molecule (stored potential energy). In addition, octanitrocubane produces no water vapor (making it less visible), and both the chemical itself and its decomposition products are considered non-toxic.

Small amounts have been synthesized in the laboratory, but not enough for performance testing as an explosive.^[1]^{[citation needed]}

Octanitrocubane was first synthesized by Philip Eaton (who was also the first to synthesize cubane in 1964) and Mao-Xi Zhang at the University of Chicago in 1999, with the structure proven by crystallographer Richard Gilardi of the US Naval Research Laboratory.^[2]^[3] One of the graduate students working in Eaton's lab was killed by an accidental explosion.^{[citation needed]}

Its R.E. factor is about 2.7.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Astakhov AM, Stepanov RS, Babushkin AY (1998). "On the detonation parameters of octanitrocubane". Compustion Explosion and Schock Waves 34 (1): 85-87.
^ Mao-Xi Zhang, Philip E. Eaton, Richard Gilardi (2000). "Hepta- and Octanitrocubanes". Angewandte Chemie International Edition 39 (2): 401-404. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(20000117)39:2<401::AID-ANIE401>3.0.CO;2-P.
^ Philip E. Eaton, Mao-Xi Zhang, Richard Gilardi, Nat Gelber, Sury Iyer, Rao Surapaneni (2001). "Octanitrocubane: A New Nitrocarbon". Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics 27 (1): 1 - 6. doi:10.1002/1521-4087(200203)27:1<1::AID-PREP1>3.0.CO;2-6.