An Improved and Scalable Synthesis of Insensitive High Explosive 4,10-Dinitro-2,6,8,12-tetraoxa-4,10-diazaisowurtzitane (TEX)

4,10-Dinitro-2,6,8,12-tetraoxa-4,10-diazaisowurtzitane (TEX), a well-known nitramine category explosive, is much less sensitive to impact and friction stimuli as compared to the familiar explosives, RDX and HMX. TEX is currently produced on pilot plant scale and is being pursued as an insensitive explosive. Herein a newer, improved, efficient, and high yielding protocol is developed for the synthesis of TEX by using solid acidic silica sulfuric acid as an efficient and recyclable catalyst. Sequentially for process parameters optimization, a study was carried out with variation of catalyst loading, nitric acid, and mole ratio of reactants. The process scale-up is also achieved successfully.