As I will be receiving some mannitol and 98%H2SO4 very soon I am hoping to make some MHN to use as a base charge in my blasting caps.Naturally as I have never made this explosive before I have some questions about it and it's manufacture.
This is the recipe I hopefully will be using:
1-Add 9.5 g AN to 6.5mL 96% H2SO4,once all the AN has dissolved, cool the solution to -5 C.
2-Now add 1 g powdered mannitol in small amounts so the temperature stays below 0 C.
3-When the addition is complete, slowly add 5.5mL 96% H2SO4 keeping the temp below 0 C.
4-Once this is done, I add the solution to about a litre of cold water with stirring.
5-Then wash with water and some baking soda.
Now in KIBC it states that nitromannite is as sensitive as nitroglycerin however on Mega's site it states that it's sensitivity is low.Does anyone know which one is correct.
Is the procedure I hope to be using correct or does anyone know of a better way in which I can increase my yields.
Also,Microtek said that this nitration gives off practically no fumes.Is there anything else I should watch out for.
All help is greatly appreciated.
Demolition



[This message has been edited by Demolition (edited May 22, 2001).]

Yes! Maybe one L of cold water is too much for 13g mix containing 3g of MHN!!!
Use crushed ice in cold water 200ml should be sufficient!

------------------
"Life that deadly disease sexually transmitted".
"Chemistry is all what stinks and explode; Physic is all what never works! ;-p :-) :o)"

In Chemistry of Powder and Explosives it says that MHN is as sensitive as nitroglycerin.
Let us know how this formula works.

Originally posted by Microtek
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">First off, I would like to recommend Mannitol HexaNitrate as a base charge in caps; its performance is incredibly high, and stability exactly right for this use
( meaning much more stable than HMTD but less than picric acid ).
This stability means that you can compress it safely at much higher pressures than HMTD; my usual compression is at about 10000 psi for 3mm coloumns. These base charges are sensitive to 5mm HMTD ( that is, a coloumn of the same diameter and 5mm in length ), and have a better initiating performance than much greater amounts of HMTD.</font>
Many people on this forum who have made nitroglycerin say that it is less sensitive than AP.( meaning much more stable than HMTD but less than picric acid ).
HMTD and AP being of the same sensitivity might mean that MHN is as sensitive as nitroglycerin.
Microtek,if your still here please reply as your the only one who seems to of made MHN.
Demolition

Sorry!!
I wanted to say that the impact sensitivity of NG is 0,2Nm, while the sensitivity of MHN is just 0,8Nm. Do you not trust these data?

gcic:This is the sort of information I am looking for as it helps me to get an idea of the sensitivity of MHN.
What source did you get this information from.
Demolition

[This message has been edited by Demolition (edited May 24, 2001).]

I got the information from my book, which is called "Explosivstoffe" (=explosives) by Josef Köhler and Rudolf Meyer. This book contains so many information concerning explosives, especially high explosives with all their data (heat of formation, oxygen bilance, volume of detonation gases, explosion heat, specific energy, density, fusion point, lead block test, detonation rate, deflagration point, impact sensitivity friction sensitivity, critical diameter of steel sleeve test). You also find detailed methods of testing explosives in there. I would say, that you can trust these data! All information you find on the web agree with the information in this book.

Mhhh, that sounds like a good book, hope I can find it in English, Spanish or French.

Well today I got 500 grams of pure mannitol.Now I'm just on waiting some H2SO4 and then I'll be set.
Demolition

That book exist in english and cost about 100-120 US$! Explosives by Joseph Kohler and Rudolph Meyer 4th edition revised!
I have it and yes it is interesting!
Worth having!

------------------
"Life that deadly disease sexually transmitted".
"Chemistry is all what stinks and explode; Physic is all what never works! ;-p :-) :o)"

I'm still here, but I've had a little confrontation with the authorities because of a ( very minor ) incident with about 0.3 g of acetone peroxide. Unfortunately, they decided to press charges, so naturally I decided to cooperate and told them all about how the device was made.
And while I'm clearing my conscience I might as well tell you that every experiment that I've claimed to have done was in fact only done in my head. So don't trust a word I've written.

That said, I'll continue to participate in a theoretical capacity on these pages.

So, about MHN; when making this explosive You should consider that some of the crystals will remain in the filter paper, some will be dissolved in the water and some will stick to the drying surface. For this reason I suggest that You make a somewhat bigger portion ( don't go overboard though; 5 g mannitol is about right ).

Sensitivity is low enough that You don't have to worry about ordinary handling, but a solid whack with a hammer will set it off.
Note that MHN can be recrystallized from ethanol, but not acetone.

*

[This message has been edited by 10fingers (edited July 19, 2001).]

If you are not stupid enough to grind them...MHN is cristalline and triboluminescence (sparks when breacking cristalls) can occur --> boom!
The solution is to disolve the MHN in a good solvant(probably aceton will do the job!)then drop that saturated solution 1 Vol into 10 Vol of cold water ...instantaneous precipitation should occure leaving you with a very fine powder!


------------------
"Life that deadly disease sexually transmitted".
"Chemistry is all what stinks and explode; Physic is all what never works! ;-p :-) :o)"

*

[This message has been edited by 10fingers (edited July 19, 2001).]

Microtek,when you say '5 grams of mannitol is about right' do you mean just to add 5 grams of mannitol instead of 1 gram or do you mean to multiply all amounts by 5?
Demolition

(by the way,yesterday I got 2 and 1/2 liters of 98.08 H2SO4 so now I have all the chemicals to dream http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/wink.gif)

I believe methanol is better than acetone when recrystalising MHN. Anyone tried making sorbitol HN? I tried, but failed. I think my acid was too weak (91%).

*

[This message has been edited by 10fingers (edited July 19, 2001).]

The described method does work, although the yield is only about 4 grams MHN per 5 grams mannitol.
The amounts should of course be scaled with the amount of mannitol.
When nitrating, You should largely follow Mega's recipe, only substituting H2SO4/NH4NO3 mix for nitric acid.
As long as the temperature doesn't get above
+5 degrees C there shouldn't be a problem.
Also, You can let the mix sit a while after all ingredients have been added ( on the order of 15 minutes ).

*

[This message has been edited by 10fingers (edited July 19, 2001).]

As long as the MHN is stable (no NOx or remaining acidity and wel dried), the mix with AN should remain OK for centuries!

------------------
"Life that deadly disease sexually transmitted".
"Chemistry is all what stinks and explode; Physic is all what never works! ;-p :-) :o)"

But MHN and AN both have a positive oxygen balance, so you could probably get better results with something else.

Or by adding Al powder, or something like xylene.

Hey John! It's been a while since I posted here. how's that acid? was it pure enough?
Don didn't break it did he?! i'm not really back and thhis is probably my last post, but i just thought i should let you know of some 60% peroxide! try the hairdresser in the huntly arcade, i don't know if it's bullshit but haynsey told me. And mods, sorry if this is in the wrong section, i just don't give a fuck, goodbye

I just have a hunch that post will be gone when I wake up, since you don't give a fuck, neither do they.

Well today I had a dream about MHN.I used the procedure above but I multiplied all amounts by 3.
I added the H2SO4 into a small beaker and cooled it to about 0 C.Then I added the AN,white fumes were given off,I then cooled this to -5 C.When the AN was disloved I added 3 grams of Mannitol in small amounts not allowing the temp to go above 0 C.I stirred this for about 7 minutes and let it sit for another 5.After that was done I slowly added 16.5 ml's of H2SO4.Add it in about 3 portions so the temp does not go above 0 C.I stirred this for about 7 min and then let it sit for another 8-10 min.I added this to 500 mls of water and crushed ice,I then filtered it and washed it with some bi-carb soda.It looks like about 3 grams.It's drying now so I'll weigh it and test it tomorrow.It's sort of a whitey/orangey/pink color.


------------------
Yeah,what up Detroit
Demolition

[This message has been edited by Demolition (edited August 12, 2001).]

Well today I weighed the filtrate.5 grams.Not bad.I took a bit of this and belted it with a hammer,nothing happened,I tried again,same thing,again I tried,still nothing and these were pretty solid wacks.Oh well,I thought a bit of AP would set it off so I took about 4 grams,packed it in the bottom of a thick paper tube,and then pressed about ~ 1 gram+ of AP on top.I sealed the top and lit the fuse.Then followed a small crack.I went back and to my fucking disappointment there was the base of the bunger with the "supposedly" MHN still pressed in the bottom.
Now this really pisses me off.I done what I thought was everything right and this happens.http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/mad.gif
Can someone please help me figure out what I done wrong.Feel free to ask any questions about the nitration.

Joel,its seems it didn't work,I dunno,maybe it was the acid,maybe it was just me.I'll try some nitrosucrose later during the week and see if I can turn up a better result.

------------------
Yeah,what up Detroit
Demolition

Naoum didn´t recommend mixed acid for the mannite nitration because it can lump together and give uncomplete nitration.

In the PETN patents is said that the same method works also for mannite. They dissolve the mannite in 90-95% warm H2SO4 (50°C)
1 part mannite 6,5 parts H2SO4.
This mix will be poored in the HNO3 or in a H2SO4/KNO3 mix.
Perhaps this works.

How well would self distilled HNO3 work, with a fair amount of NO₂ in it and how critical is the temperature. I've heard that some people add the mannite to the nitric acid keeping the temp 20-30C, then adding the H₂SO₄ after an hour of nitration again keeping the temp 20-30C.

EDIT: Whats the significance of adding the H₂SO₄ to precipitate the MHN, if MHN is insoluable in water. Even if you lost say a ¼g wouldn't that be worth not having that extra step?

[This message has been edited by EventHorizon (edited August 20, 2001).]

How well would this work...

50ml of HNO3(self distilled, quite a bit of NOx) cooled to 15C, then 10g mannitol added keeping the temp below 20C, letting the solution sit for 1h then adding 50ml of 98% H2SO4 keeping the temp below 20C (I'm speculating that only 30ml of acid can be added until enough product precipitates making the solution a thick paste) this thick paste is added to 800ml of cold water and stirred with the thermometer, the temp rising to 35C then falling back. the product is filtered, washed with 5% sodium carbonate solution and filtered again, yeilding 30.8g of slightly moist pure white product.

This is all theory and speculation of course, I'm just wondering what possibilites there are of not obtaining the desired product.

I feel like I'm talking to myself here. http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/frown.gif
"Hello me, meet the real me....."

Interesting thing, the first amount that was produced has evolved quite a bit of NO2. The product was washed, filtered, washed with 5% sodium bicarb solution, and filtered again. It was in a room where the temp was 25-28C. It was produced from mixed acid (70% HNO3, 98% H2SO4). The second batch was produced from self distilled HNO3 then precipitated with 98% H2SO4, washed, filtered, washed with 5% soduim bicarb, and filtered. Its almost dry and looks to be about 75% yeild. The product melts quickly then goes "psfffft" with an orange flame, no residue and a faint NO2 odor.

Have you tested it yet?It seems like a easier way.When I get some higher % nitric acid I'll try that method.I'll try the AN and H2SO4 again soon.
Just thinking back when I poured the solution into the ice and water it was a very white color but when filtered it turned orangey.Maybe an impurity????

------------------
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/mafsexplosives/
Demolition

What do you mean by "self distilled"? Did you just condense the fumes that come off fairly high conc. HNO3?

98% H2SO4 + KNO3, distilled at STP in 24/40 glassware.

Well, here are the dissapointing results.

Impact test = hammer on steel plate, sharp, loud report followed by slightly more tenitus...followed by 3 more sucessful tests (this time with hearing protection on) of ~.05g each.

steel hammer on wood, no detonation

1g pressed ~0.94g/cc into 6mm bodies w/ .3g MF, 0 out of 3 tries http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

2g MF on top of 1g MHN on top of ~3.5g nitroguanide, deep report and very slight deflection of a 1/2" think steel bar (1/64")

Ummm, can anybody comment/give suggestions as to what may be the problem. http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

The problem is...mercury fulminate SUCKS.

HMTD is much better. I dreamed about this for a while and found that .35g HMTD will initiate 1g of MHN quite well.

Demolition, MSN or ICQ me sometime.

ICQ 5868518
MSN eventhorizon308@hotmail.com

Try and make a little silver acetylide.
In my experience, it is not nearly as sensitive to impact as all the warnings would suggest ( though maybe my silver isn't completely pure, so I suppose there could be some stabilizing impurities ), but detonates immidiately even in the open, in arbitrarily small amounts.
I have found that as little as 0.05 g is enough to initiate MHN.

Hmmm, Don't know if I like the thought of supersensitive primaries though. I can live with .3g or so of HMTD.

What I would really like is some sodium azide, but I'm overly cautious. I was thinking about getting an airbag from a slavage company, but don't have all my arguements straight nor do I know what to expect. Anyone here ever done that. I did call them and "price" an airbag. It was ~70$ IIRC, a price I'd be willing to pay.

You really shouldn't discount anything that you havn't tested yourself ( except maybe if it's poisnous ). If you havn't tried silver acetylide yet i strongly urge you to try it out. As I stated, it is much less sensitive than I had thought ( in fact I couldn't get it to detonate no matter how hard I hit it with a hammer ), except to flame which would unfailingly detonate it. Now, as i said I'm not quite certain it is pure silver acetylide, but it is made the way SA should be made and looks right. I have made several ( small ) batches, and the result is always the same. I suppose it could be something with the silver I use.

Anyway, if you don't like it's supposed sensitivity ( and I don't either ), how about this:
If you place 0.06 g of SA in a brass pipe internal diameter 2.5 mm, external 4 mm, insert a fuse in one end and close the other with a thin film of varnish or paper or whatever. This amount of SA is not capable of deforming the pipe, but it is capable of initiating MHN. So when you need to set off you explosive, you just insert this tiny cap into your detonator, which solely contains something like MHN.

Well, perhaps I will try it. I have some silver, although in bar and coin that I really don't want to use. I think I have some silver wire tho, I shall give it a go.

Here is some photo editing with a new program called MHN v1.0g.

http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/1.5mmsheet1.jpg

http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/1.5mmsheet2.jpg

http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/1.5mmsheet3.jpg

http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/3mmplate1.jpg

http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/3mmplate2.jpg

http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/3mmplate3.jpg

Hope these images are not to big.


[This message has been edited by EventHorizon (edited September 10, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by EventHorizon (edited September 10, 2001).]

EventHorizon: Brinkster doesn't allow image link-thru's any more. You have to copy and paste the url into your browser address bar to view it. To those too braindead to right click, the url's are, respectively:
http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/1.5mmsheet1.jpg
http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/1.5mmsheet2.jpg
http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/1.5mmsheet3.jpg
http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/3mmplate1.jpg
http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/3mmplate2.jpg
http://www24.brinkster.com/eventhorizon308/3mmplate3.jpg

Great pics btw. http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Hmmmm, the pics come up for me on my work computer. I'll investigate further tho and if they don't allow the pass through, I'm going to cancel the subcription. None of these free sites seem to be very good anymore. http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

They work because you've got them locally cached. I had the same problem when trying to link up my "Search" button.

Great pictures.
I hope Microtek posts that information on MHN using 70% nitric acid soon http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/wink.gif.

------------------
Demolition

Well, away with Brinkster! Anyone have recommendations on a free server or a good refering service if I get a paid server.

70% HNO3 works for MHN, tho yeilds are lower. I think 'a friend' got something like 3g MHN from 5g of mannitol.

Angelfire is o.k but you have to save your pictures in .gif for them to be viewed.
What method did your "friend" use with the 70% nitric acid?

------------------
Demolition

The process is described in the swedish infomania file, but I can summarize here:

- Dissolve 20 g mannitol in 100 g HNO3 70%, taking care that the temperature does not rise above 5C.

- When the solution is clear after the addition, cool to below 0C

- Add 200 g H2SO4 96% dropwise, while keeping below 0C. This will precipitate the MHN and towards the end of the addition, the solution will turn viscous with MHN.

- Filter, wash, neutralize, wash, dry.

It may be possible to get better yields with this method by adding more H2SO4, to dehydrate the mix further.

5g mannitol, 50ml 70% HNO3, 50ml 98% H2SO4

The temperature doesn't appear all that critical to the reaction but may affect the yeild. The first method "a friend" tried was done keeping the mix less than 5C, then letting the mix stand for 1 hour, after which 30ml of H2SO4 was added. He/she/it/they stopped adding the H2SO4 because it was a pastey mix, like watery cream of wheat with nitric acid fumes coming off(not NO2). Then added to ice/water ~500ml, filtered and washed once more. The product evolved NO2 fumes the next day in the container it was kept in, so it was added to 5% baking soda water, let sit for 10min and filtered.

2nd batch was done keeping the temp less than 20C, letting sit for 1h20m then adding all the H2SO4 still keeping temp less than 20C.

3rd batch was done keeping the temp less than 10C, letting sit for 1h20m then adding all the H2SO4 keeping temp less than 10C.

2nd and 3rd batches were filtered, added to 5% baking soda water letting sit for 15 min with stirring and filtered again.

3rd batch was added to ~700ml denatured alcohol and heated until all was dissolved then precipitated by adding to 1L cold water.

not certain the yeild of 1st batch, but was low, something like 3g from 5g mannitol. 2nd batch was a 72% yeild and 3rd batch was an 84% yeild. 2nd and 3rd batches were done using distilled HNO3 which had excess NO2.

[EDIT] Shit something screwed up the sentences when I submitted it. Think it may have been the less than symbols.

[This message has been edited by EventHorizon (edited September 13, 2001).]

With distilled HNO3, do you mean higly concentrated ( ie. 90%+ ) or what?
Also when you say 72% and 84% yield, do you mean based on mol mannitol or by weight?

Maybe a little bit off-topic, but in some way relevant..

In my search for mannitol I came across some interesting shops(Amsterdam), we call them "smart-shops". They sell all kinds of drugs that are not forbidden and also other things like water-pipes(if you know what I mean :-) ), pipes, tshirts etc..
I was quite surprised when I saw mannitol under lidocaine!

They sell two forms: non-crystallized mannitol and a crystallized version. The latter one was twice as expensive. About 70 guilders per 100 gram. So that is 40 USD/100 g. The first one costs about 15 USD/100 g.

What I would like to know if someone knows what the difference is between the two versions. Do you think it is probably really (D)-Mannitol. And maybe why they sell this sugar in a smart-shop?

BTW, is the price comparable to what you guys paid for it?

[This message has been edited by tvs17 (edited September 18, 2001).]

Microtek,

Yes, sp. gr. is 1.51g/cc (tested by weighing 100ml in a volumetric and verified with a hydrometer) and its red fuming.
yeilds are based calculated theoretical yeilds and if memory serves me correctly, 10g mannitol should yeild 24.3g MHN.

tvs17,

I paid ~$35 for 500g reagent,ACS grade d-mannitol. I forget the quality scale http://theforum.virtualave.net/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

------------------
-chance favors a prepared mind-
PGP ID 0x147CEF54

The hell is this expensive!
I got my mannitol from ebay for round about 10 US$. 1 Kg pure d-mannitol, original Merck.
I don´t recommend this expensive stuff.
Perhaps it is manna. They sell it in shops where incense or spice is also sold.

Well I got 250 gram's of 99,9%mannitol this week and tried some mhn
The precipitate is now drieing,
I have washed it with some bicarb becouse I don't know how acid sensisitive it is.
I started out with 5 gram's of mannitol and I think my yield is about the same but I'm not shure. I used the same method as above.
But my biggest question would be what this stuff should look like, and how storage stable is it.
your thought's and idee's are very helpfull

edit:tvs17 Try your local apotheek(pharmacist)
they get their supply's from bufa.com
I got my monnitol for 17euro/250gram
you can get a lot of chenicals as long as
they are not regulated or otherwise dangeres

<small>[ April 03, 2002, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: andreas ]</small>

Mannitol, sorbitol, fructose, and other such sugars are readily and cheaply available at the health nut stores as "organic" sweetners. I've seen it at $3/pound.

Well I tried it today, and it's not nearly as sensitive as i would have thought. I took a teaspoon full of the powder and superheated it.
It turned liquid then it turned orangy brown and NOx started puffing out. After a few seconds it flashed and was gone.
I can immagine this compound is not very sensitive to a fuse.
What would be the best way to inisiate it, without using (pressing) organic peroxides as I hate them.

<small>[ April 04, 2002, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: andreas ]</small>

I got some mannitol recently, and I've found a very good primary mixture to be MHN with around 10% double salts added. It's great.

Lol, I wouldn't recommend heating a teaspoon full. It's powerful stuff!

Well it's pretty difficult for me to get hold of nitric acid thus making dubble salts would be pretty difficult for me.
I wil make som mhn later today for new tests.
thank's anyway

P.S: does anybody tried lead mannite before.
I couldn't find much info about it on the net.
So I thought i'd ask.

<small>[ April 05, 2002, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: andreas ]</small>

Where do you get your Chemicals Andreas? may i have your e-mail?

Cya

Well as you might understand I don't like giving my email adress on a open forum but I can give a spammail adress and you can send your mail to there and then I can give you my normal email adress.

it is kramrak@hotmail.com

Hello mister evil I still didn't get email from you. I'd like to contact with someone taht speaks dutch. As this isn't a very accepted hobby people don't understand you very much

<small>[ April 12, 2002, 05:27 PM: Message edited by: andreas ]</small>

People my mhn is fuming NOx but not very strong, every time I open the canister it is put in (aluminium) a bit of yellow gas escapes .
it's about 2 weeks old and I use it for detonators.
how safe is it for storage.
Do these fumes come from insufficient washing or decomposition of the mhn.

If MHN is not recrystallized from alcohol with a small amount of bicarb it will still contain traces of acid. It will then begin to decompose which is very dangerous because it causes it to become more sensitive.
I would dispose of it very quickly and carefully.

thank's for you'r advise.

My MHN did the same thing, kept evolving NOx fumes. Its ESSENTIAL to neutralize the acid. Boil it in a solution of 5% soda bicarb until neutral. It will store fine after that. I find HMTD works great for MHN caps, ~.25g is sufficent for .5-.75g MHN charges. You can then make up a bunch of MHN base charge caps then make HMTD and load them when you need them. IIRC, MHN was used in some safety fuse caps with the thought that the unconfined primary would flash off without initiating the MHN then the MHN would just liquify and flash off with out detonation in the event of a fire.

I have found that just about every crystalline HE is most thoroughly neutralized by dissolving the HE in some solvent ( ethanol in the case of MHN, acetone in the case of PETN or RDX ) and then adding solid bicarb under agitation until the solution is neutral. Water is then added which precipitates the HE and dissolves the sodium nitrate/sulfate ( from reaction of bicarb with nitric or sulfuric acid ).

Well even small amounts of mhn do detonate when confined only a little bit and smaller amount's up to a gram detonate from their own weight when super heated. But from now on I will boil my mhn in sodiumbicarb. Its such an amazing explosive. Simple to make and extemely powerfull, and easy to inisiate.

Today I was reading that book Uncle Ester home workshop explosives book, there was one part that said it can be melted at 110*C in a oil bath and poured into casts therefore reaching its maxium density hence maxium volocity. Of course that can be a very dangerous take as at elevated temperatures it becomes more senisitve then nitroglycerin.

Another section talks about a plasticizer with MHN where it is mixed with 5 parts vasaline and 95 parts MHN. It is senisitve to a #5 caps and works underwater. Since MHN have a positive oxygen balance maybe a fuel like the plastizers vaseline can be empolyed to reach perfect oxygen balance.

i've tried MHN + PIB plastique and it was VERY good. i detonated it useing about 0.4g of double salts/NC putty and used no confinement at all. just stuck it to a brick then stuck the micro detonator into it. it would be a good initiator for AN compositions as it can be in direct contact with the AN charge.

Treatment of mannitol hexanitrate with...ammonium carbonate in aqueous acetone leads to a very selective denitration with the formation of mannitol-1,2,3,5,6-pentanitrate.

...synthesized the acetate, the propionate, and the phenylacetate derivatives of mannitol-1,2,3,5,6-pentanitrate and all have significantly lower melting points than mannitol hexanitrate.

The incorporation of such groups can also help to increase the solubility of an explosive in the melt of another explosive.


The relevant citation:
D.E.Elrick,N.S.MaransandR.F.Preckel, J.Am.Chem.Soc.,1954, 76,1373

Very interesting- were there any examples given, strengths of solutions per weight, etc.?

Attached:

Organic Acid Esters of Pentaerythritol Trinitrate
N. S. Marans, D. E. Elrick, R. F. Preckel
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 1954; 76(5); 1304-1306.

Organic Esters of Mannitol Pentanitrate
D. E. Elrick, N. S. Marans, R. F. Preckel
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 1954; 76(5); 1373-1374.

Once again...

Attachments don't work, so you have to upload them to Rapidshare or similar.

Even if you could attach files here, which is currently screwed up, don't attach ACS stuff or they will be after us. Use something like rapidshare. Oops, NBK beat me to it...

The second article can actually be obtained for FREE from the ACS website pubs.acs.org because it is only 2 pages. You get the first page of any article for free, and since the second page of the desired article is the first page of the article right after it, you can get both pages. Browse for it in the index ACS...
Organic Esters of Mannitol Pentanitrate
D. E. Elrick, N. S. Marans, R. F. Preckel
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 1954; 76(5); 1373-1374.

The first article has conveniently just appeared online, so it's free too...
Organic Acid Esters of Pentaerythritol Trinitrate
N. S. Marans, D. E. Elrick, R. F. Preckel
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 1954; 76(5); 1304-1306.
http://mihd.net/kis4cg

I wonder if this ester-addition technique could be applied to the likes of TNT or Picric acid, not just polyols?

If the MP of Picric acid could be reduced to below 100&deg;C, that'd greatly improve its utility.

I've only briefly glanced at the article (I'm exhausted and going to sleep), but it appears to me that the lower MP of PETriN is due to the fact that it has only three nitrate groups instead of the normal four in PETN. The ester (monoacetate, ect) is removed by 'controlled saponification' after the nitration is finished.

The first difference, nbk, to note between PETN and TNP is that one is a nitrate ester (O-NO2) and the other is a 'true' nitrate (C-NO2), respectively. If you want an DNP instead of TNP, you'd just use less nitrating mixture. Pentaerythritol is nitrated all at once; phenol is nitrated in three steps. Another difference to note is that while PETriN has good explosive properties, DNT does not.

However, the MP of DNT is less than that of TNP due due to its lesser molecular weight.