Initial Mechanisms for the Unimolecular Thermal Decomposition of 2,6-Diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide

The initial channels of thermal decomposition mechanism of 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (LLM-105) molecule were investigated. The results of quantum chemical calculations revealed four candidates involved in the reaction pathway, including the C–NO(2) bond homolysis, nitro–nitrite rearrangement followed by NO elimination, and H transfer from amino to acyl O and to nitro O with the subsequent OH or HONO elimination, respectively. In view of the further kinetic analysis and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, the C–NO(2) bond homolysis was suggested to be the dominant step that triggered the decomposition of LLM-105 at temperatures above 580 K. Below this temperature, two types of H transfer were considered as the primary reactions, which have advantages including lower barrier and high rate compared to the C–NO(2) bond dissociation. It could be affirmed that these two types of H transfer are reversible processes, which could buffer against external thermal stimulation. Therefore, the excellent thermal stability of LLM-105, that is nearly identical to that of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene, can be attributed to the reversibility of H transfers at relatively low temperatures. However, subsequent OH or HONO elimination reactions occur with difficulty because of their slow rates and extra energy barriers. Although nitro–nitrite rearrangement is theoretically feasible, its rate constant is too small to be observed. This study facilitates the understanding of the essence of thermal stability and detailed decomposition mechanism of LLM-105.