TY - JOUR A1 - Konar, S. A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Sen, N. A1 - Bull, C. L. A1 - Morrison, C. A. A1 - Pulham, C. R. T1 - High-Pressure Study of Two Polymorphs of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene Using Neutron Powder Diffraction and Density Functional Theory Methods N2 - A high-pressure neutron diffraction study was conducted on polycrystalline samples of the two known polymorphs of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene [monoclinic (m) and orthorhombic (o) TNT] under hydrostatic conditions. Isothermal equations of state were obtained for both polymorphic forms. Neither polymorph was observed to undergo a phase transition in the pressure region 0–5 GPa, with both polymorphs displaying smooth compression behavior across the pressure range. This differs somewhat from previous X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy investigations in which discontinuities were observed in the P–V curves and spectral changes were reported at ∼2 GPa. The high-pressure response of these materials is supported by dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations which, while overestimating the experimental bulk moduli, give excellent agreement with the observed smooth compression response of both phases. KW - Energetic Materials PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b07658 VL - 123 SP - 26095 EP - 26105 PB - ACS AN - OPUS4-49811 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Christopher, I A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Pulham, C. A1 - Morrison, C. T1 - Towards Computational Screening for New Energetic Molecules: Calculation of Heat of Formation and Determination of Bond Strengths by Local Mode Analysis N2 - The reliable determination of gas-phase and solid-state heats of formation are important considerations in energetic materials research. Herein, the ability of PM7 to calculate the gas-phase heats of formation for CNHO-only and inorganic compounds has been critically evaluated, and for the former, comparisons drawn with isodesmic equations and Atom equivalence methods. Routes to obtain solid-state heats of formation for a range of singlecomponent molecular solids, salts, and co-crystals were also evaluated. Finally, local vibrational mode analysis has been used to calculate bond length/force constant curves for seven different chemical bonds occurring in CHNO-containing molecules, which allow for rapid identification of the weakest bond, opening up great potential to rationalise decomposition pathways. Both metrics are important tools in rationalising the design of new energetic materials through computational screening processes. KW - Energetic materials KW - Density functional theory PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-530371 DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2021.726357 VL - 9 SP - 726357 AN - OPUS4-53037 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Rudic, S. A1 - Pulham, C. A1 - Morrison, C. T1 - Predicting the impact sensitivity of a polymorphic high explosive: the curious case of FOX-7 N2 - The impact sensitivity (IS) of FOX-7 polymorphs is predicted by phonon up-pumping to decrease as layers of FOX-7 molecules flatten. Experimental validation proved anomalous owing to a phase transition during testing, raising questions regarding Impact sensitivity measurement and highlighting the need for models to predict IS of polymorphic energetic materials. KW - Energetic materials KW - Density functional theory KW - Inelastic Neutron Scattering Spectroscopy KW - Impact Sensitivity PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-535558 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d1cc03906g SN - 1364-548X VL - 57 IS - 85 SP - 11213 EP - 11216 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-53555 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Trestman, M. A1 - Rudic, S. A1 - Portius, P. A1 - Fincham, P. A1 - Pulham, C. A1 - Morrison, C. T1 - Predicting the reactivity of energetic materials: an ab initio multi-phonon approach N2 - The ease with which an energetic material (explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics) can be initiated is a critical parameter to assess their safety and application. Impact sensitivity parameters are traditionally derived experimentally, at great cost and risk to safety. In this work we explore a fully ab initio Approach based on concepts of vibrational energy transfer to predict impact sensitivities for a series of chemically, structurally and energetically diverse molecular materials. The quality of DFT calculations is assessed for a subset of the materials by comparison with experimental inelastic neutron scattering spectra (INS). A variety of models are considered, including both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the vibrational spectra. Excellent agreement against experimental impact sensitivity is achieved by consideration of a multi-phonon ladder-type up-pumping mechanism that includes both overtone and combination pathways, and is improved further by the added consideration of temperature. This fully ab initio approach not only permits ranking of energetic materials in terms of their impact sensitivity but also provides a tool to guide the targeted design of advanced energetic compounds with tailored properties. KW - Energetic Materials KW - Prediction KW - Density Functional Theory PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-489328 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ta06209b VL - 7 IS - 33 SP - 19539 EP - 19553 PB - RSC AN - OPUS4-48932 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, X. A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Pulham, C. T1 - High-pressure reversibility in a plastically flexible coordination polymer crystal N2 - Single crystals which exhibit mechanical flexibility are promising materials for advanced technological applications. Before such materials can be used, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of bending is needed. Using single crystal X-ray diffraction and microfocus Raman spectroscopy, we study in atomic detail the high-pressure response of the plastically flexible coordination polymer [Zn(μ-Cl)2(3,5-dichloropyridine)2]n (1). Contradictory to three-point bending, quasi-hydrostatic compression of (1) is completely reversible, even following compression to over 9 GPa. A structural phase transition is observed at ca. 5 GPa. DFT calculations show this transition to result from the pressure-induced softening of low-frequency vibrations. This phase transition is not observed during three-point-bending. Microfocus synchrotron X-ray diffraction revealed that bending yields significant mosaicity, as opposed to compression. Hence, our studies indicate of overall disparate mechanical responses of bulk flexibility and quasi-hydrostatic compression within the same crystal lattice. We suspect this to be a general feature of plastically bendable materials. KW - High pressure KW - Density functional theory KW - Mechanically flexible crystals PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-530360 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24165-x VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 3871 AN - OPUS4-53036 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -