Concise Route to a Fully Tetrazolyl-Substituted Imidazole Isomer for Connectivity-Guided Energetic Material Design

Abstract

Constitutional isomerism provides a way to compare energetic materials without changing the molecular formula or energetic group content. Now, we report the synthesis of a previously unexplored fully tetrazolyl-substituted imidazole, 2,4,5-tris(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-1H-imidazole, from a tricyanoimidazole precursor. The compound was compared to two reported constitutional isomers that contain the same tetrazolyl composition but require different synthetic routes. This comparison shows that the number of steps needed to reach the same energetic composition is a practical consideration. The new isomer shows good thermal stability, low mechanical sensitivity, and competitive energetic properties while being accessed through a concise route. These results show that constitutional isomerism can help identify energetic frameworks that balance the synthetic accessibility and performance.