Xylitol pentanitrate

Properties

At room temperature XPN exists as a white crystalline solid. When heated to 163 °C, liquid xylitol pentanitrate begins to crackle and produce a dark vapour. When decomposed, a gram of XPN produces 200 mL of gas, which makes it a high performance explosive.

Rotter impact analysis of XPN found a figure of insensitiveness of 25 (RDX = 80). XPN displayed a similar sensitivity to static discharge to ETN and PETN.

Synthesis

Xylitol pentanitrate is formed by nitration of xylitol pentaacetate. Nowadays, fuming nitric acid and glacial acetic acid is often used, but Bertrand originally employed a cheaper nitrating agent, the mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids (he called it mélange nitrosulfurique, the common English name is "mixed acid").

Complete oxidation

Much like ETN, XPN has a positive oxygen balance, which means the carbon and hydrogen in the molecule can be fully oxidized without another oxidizing agent being added:

:

The decomposition of four molecules of XPN releases three O2. The free oxygen molecules can be used to oxidize an added metal dust or negative oxygen balanced explosive such as TNT.

References

References

1. (November 2020). "Xylitol pentanitrate – Its characterization and analysis". Forensic Science International.
2. (2011). "Investigation on the Electrochemistry and Cytotoxicity of Organic Nitrates and Nitroamines". Central European Journal of Energetic Materials.
3. (2019). "Crystal Structure, Sensitiveness and Theoretical Explosive Performance of Xylitol Pentanitrate (XPN)". Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics.
4. Klapötke, Thomas M.. (2021-01-18). "O-Z". De Gruyter.
5. (1960). "The Pentitol Pentanitrates". Canadian Journal of Chemistry.
6. Bertrand, G.. (20 May 1891). "Sur la constitution de la xylite et du xylose". L. Hachette.
7. (2013). "The effect of molecular structure on thermal stability, decomposition kinetics and reaction models of nitric esters". Thermochimica Acta.
8. (2018). "The correlations among detonation velocity, heat of combustion, thermal stability and decomposition kinetics of nitric esters". Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry.
9. (1960). "The Pentitol Pentanitrates". Canadian Journal of Chemistry.