A new family of insensitive energetic copolymers composed of nitro and nitrogen-rich energy components: Structure, physicochemical property and density functional theory

•Six energetic copolymers incorporating active NO2 group and nitrogen-rich unit were synthesized and structurally characterized.•All compounds exhibit superior thermal stabilities and insensitiveness to external stimulation.•All compounds feature good detonation property.

A series of nitro-containing energetic copolymers, HD·DNSA (1), G·DNSA (2), AG·DNBA (3), TZ·DNSA (4), 5-ATZ·DNSA (5) and 4-ATZ·DNSA (6) (DNSA, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid; HD, hydrazine; G, guanidine; AG, amino guanidine; TZ, 1H-1,2,4-triazole; 5-ATZ, 5-amino-tetrazole; 4-ATZ, 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole) are successfully synthesized based on intermolecular interactions. All compounds are structurally characterized by powder and single crystal X-ray diffractions, infrared spectrum (IR) and elemental analyses. Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that compounds 1–6 present favorable thermal stabilities. Moreover, all compounds feature good detonation properties and low sensitivities, representing potential energetic materials and promising alternatives to traditional explosives.