NOVEL APPROACHES TO THE SYNTHESIS OF FLUORODINITROMETHANE AND FLUORODINITROETHANOL

NOVEL CHEMICAL AND ELECTROCHEMICAL METHODS OF SYNTHESIS OF FLUORODINITROMETHANE AND FLUORODINITROETHANOL ARE PROPOSED. THESE COMPOUNDS ARE USEFUL AS PLASTICIZERS FOR HIGH-ENERGY EXPLOSIVES AND PROPELLANTS, AND AS INTERMEDIATES IN THE SYNTHESIS OF OTHER HIGHENERGY MATERIALS, INCLUDING POLYMERS. THE PROPOSED SYNTHETIC APPROACHES ARE POTENTIALLY SAFER AND MORE EFFICIENT THAN PREVIOUS METHODS, AND UTILIZE INEXPENSIVE STARTING MATERIALS. THE METHODS DEVELOPED CAN BE READILY SCALED UP TO PRODUCE LARGE QUANTITIES OF MATERIAL. PHASE II WILL EXTEND THESE STUDIES TO DEVELOP LOW COST METHODS OF SYNTHESIS FOR A WIDE RANGE OF HIGHLY ENERGETIC MATERIALS CONTAINING SIMILAR FUNCTIONALITY.