Relationships between impact sensitivities and molecular surface electrostatic potentials of nitroaromatic and nitroheterocyclic molecules

Abstract

For two classes of molecules that are stabilized by the delocalization of electronic charge, nitroaromatics and nitroheterocycles, we have shown that their measured impact sensitivities can be related quantitatively to the degrees of internal charge separation and the presence of strongly positive electrostatic potential maxima on their molecular surfaces. These latter properties have been obtained through ab initio HF/STO-5G* and HF/6-31G* calculations. We suggest that a key factor in determining the impact sensitivities of these compounds may be the extent to which the stabilizing effect of charge delocalization has been counteracted.