On the nucleation mechanism of the β-δ phase transition in the energetic nitramine octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine

In our previous work on the mechanism for the β-δ solid-solid phase transition in octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), we used an empirical mechanism for the nucleation step and hypothesized a defect mechanism that was greatly affected by the presence of a nitroplasticizer/estane binder in the HMX formulation. Since then, we have acquired further evidence for this and have separated out the components of the binder to confirm that it is the nitroplasticizer that controls the nucleation energy in HMX formulations containing a nitroplasticizer/estane binder. While the exact distribution of nucleation energies as a function of synthesis route/defect type has not been worked out, it is likely that the solubility of the HMX in the nitroplasticizer is responsible for lowering the nucleation energy at the crystal surface, and therefore determines the nucleation rate for the formulation.