Protonation of Nitramines: Where Does the Proton Go?

Abstract

The reactions of nitramine, N‐methyl nitramine, and N,N‐dimethyl nitramine with anhydrous HF and the superacids HF/MF5 (M=As, Sb) were investigated at temperatures below −40 °C. In solution, exclusive O‐protonation was observed by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. Whereas no solid product could be isolated from the neat HF solutions even at −78 °C, in the HF/MF5 systems, protonated nitramine MF6− salts were isolated for the first time as moisture‐sensitive solids that decompose at temperatures above −40 °C. In the solid state, depending on the counterion, O‐protonated or N‐protonated cations can be formed, in accord with theoretical calculations which show that the energy differences between O‐protonation and N‐protonation are very small. The salts [H2N‐NO2H][AsF6], [H3N‐NO2][SbF6], [MeHNNO2H][SbF6], and [Me2NNO2H][SbF6] were characterized by their X‐ray crystal structures.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jul 11, 2017
Source ID
10.1002/anie.201705397

Entities

People

  • Karl O. Christe
  • Martin Rahm
  • Ralf Haiges
  • Thomas Saal

Organizations

  • Chalmers University of Technology
  • Office of Naval Research
  • University of Southern California

Tags

Readers

  • Organic Chemistry
  • Vector-Borne Disease and Entomology