Crystal structure and thermal behavior of oxy-bridged bis(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)furazan

•The crystal structure of oxy-bridged bis(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)furazan was reported.•The thermal behavior of oxy-bridged bis(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)furazan was described.•The decomposition mechanism under heating and electron impact condition were proposed, respectively.

The synthesis and crystal structure of oxy-bridged bis(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)furazan (2) were reported. The thermal behavior of 2 was investigated by DSC and TG–FTIR–MS coupling technique. The results showed that the thermolysis of 2 included two stages. The rupture of tetrazole ring occurred with the release of N2 in the first stage. In the second stage, the striping of HCN from schiff base radical followed by the fragmentation of furazan ether moiety, which leading to the formation of N2O, NO and polymer. Furthermore, two decomposition pathways of 2 under electron impact condition were proposed, and the fracture of tetrazole ring and ether bond were considered as the initial step of molecule decomposition, respectively.