Desensitization of high explosives by encapsulation in metal-organic frameworks

Abstract

High explosives (HEs) that contain a large amount of potential energy are used in various fields, including the military, mining, and construction industries. The detonation of these high-energy materials should be initiated by a desired and expected external energy; however, unintentional initiation occurs owing to internal voids inside the high explosives, referred to as hotspots. To address this issue, in this study, one of the representative HEs, 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX), was confined in nanoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with high surface areas and high pore volumes to decrease the hotspots and provide a rigid shield. The RDX-encapsulated mesoporous MOF (pore volume of 1.4 cm3/g) showed lower impact sensitivity (23%) and friction sensitivity (125%) compared to those of the non-encapsulated RDX, owing to the decrease in hotspots due to the nano-sizing of the HE and protection from external impact provided by the rigid MOF structure.