Some transition metal salts of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan: Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of their properties

Chromium, Iron and Copper salts of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan have been prepared by reacting sodium salt of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan with chromium nitrate nonahydrate, ferric nitrate nonahydrate and cupric nitrate trihydrate, respectively. The compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis, spectral data (IR and NMR) and metal content. Some properties including thermal and explosive behaviour of these compounds have been investigated and reported. Further, these molecules have also been investigated in composite propellants as burn-rate modifiers. The preliminary data suggest that iron salt of 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan is better than ferric oxide, generally used as a burn-rate modifier for hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based composite propellants.