Theoretical investigation on the heats of formation and detonation performance in polydinitroaminocubanes

A series of polydinitroaminocubanes have been designed computationally. We calculated the heats of formation, the detonation velocity (D) and detonation pressure (P) of the title compounds by density function theory (DFT) with 6-311 G** basis set. The relationship between the heats of formation and the molecular structures is discussed. The result shows that all cubane derivatives have high and positive heats of formation, which increase with increasing number of dinitroamino groups. The detonation performances of the title compound were estimated by Kamlet-Jacobs equation, and the result indicated that most cubane derivatives have good detonation performance over RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-trizine) and HMX (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane). In addition, we also found that the heat of detonation (Q) is another very important impact in increasing detonation performance except density. The relative stabilities of the title compound are discussed in the terms of the calculated heats of formation, and the energy gaps between the frontier orbitals. The results have not only shown that these compounds may be used as high energy density compounds (HEDCs), but also provide some useful information for further investigation.