Tetrazole-Derived Bis(1,3,4-oxadiazole) Scaffolds: A Heterocyclic Connectivity with Enhanced Stability and Reduced Sensitivity

Abstract

Resolving the inherent trade-off between high energy and thermal stability/sensitivity in energetic materials remains a long-standing challenge. In this work, a series of energetic compounds and their corresponding salts were synthesized by employing a bis(1,3,4-oxadiazole) unit as a bridging scaffold to integrate tetrazole and 1H-tetrazol-1-ol moieties. Notably, the 1,3,4-oxadiazole framework is constructed from tetrazole-derived precursors, a transformation that is rarely explored in energetic materials. All compounds were fully characterized and exhibit favorable thermal stability and low mechanical sensitivity. Among them, 5,5′-di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-2,2′-bi(1,3,4-oxadiazole) (4) shows a high thermal decomposition temperature of 300 °C, highlighting its potential as a heat-resistant energetic material.