Sensitivities of High Energy Compounds

The article presents a survey of the development trends in studies of sensitivity (initiation reactivity) of energetic materials (EMs) over the last nine years, focusing mainly on impact and shock sensitivities. Attention is given to the initiation by heat, laser, electrostatic discharge, impact and shock, including the influence of hydrostatic compression, crystal defects, molecular structure and desensitizing admixtures on the initiation reactivity. Problems of the initiation of nitromethane are examined with a special accent. It is stated that one of the best-developed theories for such studies is Dlott's Model of the Multiphonon Up-Pumping. Also significant is the model based on Non-Equilibrium Zeldovich–von Neuman–Döring theory. Very important are approaches devised by Politzer and Murray, updated by Price et al. as a hybrid model of prediction of the impact sensitivity of CHNO explosives. The physical organic chemistry approach to the sensitivity problem (POC model) is discussed with special emphasis. In this way it has been found that the electron structure and close neighborhood of the primarily leaving nitro group are dominant factors in the initiation by shock, electric spark and heat of polynitro compounds.