Review on the Synthesis and Performance for 1,3,4‐Oxadiazole‐Based Energetic Materials

Abstract

AbstractEnergetic materials have been widely used in both military and civilian fields. The development of new high‐energy materials with improved performance and enhanced stability is critical for promoting future military and space applications. Recently, researchers in the field of energetic materials have paid significant attention to oxadiazole‐based energetic compounds, among which 1,3,4‐oxadiazole demonstrates moderate energy levels and better stability, owing to the absence of readily cleaved N−O bonds compared with other oxadiazole isomers, such as 1,2,4‐oxadiazole and 1,2,5‐oxadiazole. Therefore, 1,3,4‐oxadiazole is an exceptional explosophoric motif with an efficient compromise between energy and stability, and several outstanding energetic materials have been achieved based on the combination of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole units with various functional groups or rings, such as polynitrobenzene, furazan, pyrazole, and 1,3,4‐oxadiazole itself. This review provides an overview of the development of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐based energetic materials during the past few years, outlines their synthesis and energetic performance, and contrasts them with other conventional energetic materials. Owing to the convenience of the synthetic routes and their excellent energetic properties, energetic materials based on the 1,3,4‐oxadiazole skeleton may be considered as the next‐generation of high‐performance energetic materials specifically as heat‐resistant explosives or insensitive explosives.