Nitramide


Nitramide or nitroamine is a chemical compound with the molecular formula. It is an isomer of hyponitrous acid. Nitramide can be viewed as a nitrogen analog of nitric acid, in which the hydroxyl group is replaced with the amino group.
Substituted derivatives are termed nitramides or nitroamines as well and see wide use as explosives: examples include RDX and HMX.

Structure

The nitramide molecule is essentially an amine group bonded to a nitro group. It is reported to be non-planar in the gas phase, but planar in the crystal phase.

Synthesis

Thiele and Lachman's original synthesis of nitramide involved the hydrolysis of potassium nitrocarbamate:
Other routes to nitramide include hydrolysis of nitrocarbamic acid,
reaction of sodium sulfamate with nitric acid,
and reaction of dinitrogen pentoxide with two equivalents of ammonia.

Organic nitramides

Also called nitramines, organic nitramides are important explosives. They are prepared by nitrolysis of hexamethylenetetramine.