High-Pressure Characterization of Nitrogen-Rich Bis-triaminoguanidinium Azotetrazolate (TAGzT) by In Situ Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

Compounds rich in nitrogen are attracting significant interest not only because of their high energy content but also because they are potentially more environmentally benign in comparison to conventional energetic materials. Given this interest, it is desirable to understand their molecular composition and structural variations with pressure to derive their stability and determine the conditions in which they transform physically or chemically. In this study, we examine the room-temperature isothermal compression behavior of bis-triaminoguanidinium azotetrazolate (TAGzT) by in situ Raman spectroscopy to pressures near 17 GPa. We assign the characteristic vibrational bands and report the effects of pressure on band intensity, line width, and frequency shift. Two prominent peaks near 1370 and 1470 cm(-1) arise from the C-N and N═N symmetric stretches, respectively. Overall, the intensity of these bands and others diminishes with pressure, and their spectral linewidths increase monotonically upon compression. The vibrational frequency modes blue shift linearly upon compression, indicating a generalized stiffening of the bonds as the pressure increases. These results, together with micro Raman spectroscopic analyses of the recovered, decompressed samples, suggest that TAGzT does not undergo any phase transitions within this pressure range. We estimate and report the C-N and N═N intermolecular bond lengths under compression.