Highly Nitrated Furan Derivatives: A Series of High-Density Promising Energetic Materials

The development of high-performance energetic materials with balanced energy and stability remains a persistent challenge in modern energetic materials science. In this work, 2,4-dinitro-5-chlorodinitromethyl-furan ( 4 ) was achieved via one-step nitration. Three novel polynitrofuran derivatives, i.e., sodium 2,4-dinitro-5-dinitromethyl-furan ( 5 ), potassium 2,4-dinitro-5-dinitromethyl-furan ( 6 ), and ammonium 2,4-dinitro-5-dinitromethyl-furan ( 7 ), were further synthesized and comprehensively characterized. Three distinct structural characteristics were revealed across the series of energetic compounds. Compound 4 adopts a layered supramolecular architecture stabilized by hydrogen bonding and weak intermolecular interactions. Compounds 5 and 6 are isostructural, both featuring three-dimensional frameworks constructed from inorganic cation layers interconnected by organic anion dimers through extensive Na···O or K···O interactions. Compound 7 exhibits a hydrogen-bonded layered structure mediated by ammonium cations. Benefiting from the unique highly nitrated furan moiety, compounds 4 - 7 exhibit high density (Density≥1.83 g cm -3 ). Furthermore, the highest thermal decomposition temperature of 251 °C was observed in compound 6 . Compound 7 exhibited the highest detonation velocity of 8916 m·s - ¹. Moreover, all compounds displayed favorable mechanical sensitivities (IS: 3–14 J; FS: 24–96 N). The exceptional balance between energy and stability exhibited by these polynitrofuran derivatives establishes them as a promising new class of high-performance energetic materials.