JWBK121-FM October 11, 2006 21:10 Char Count= 0Foreword
In the past a significant amount of research worldwide was directed at the synthesis of new
energetic compounds as potential explosives or propellant ingredients. This research involved
the synthesis of many different classes of energetic compounds, including heterocycles, ni-
trohydrocarbons, nitrate esters, nitramines and caged compounds. The research in this area
has been reviewed many times in the past but these reviews usually concentrated on one class
of energetic compounds, e.g. nitroalkenes or nitroazoles, and except for possibly Urbanski’s
volumes on theChemistry and Technology of Explosives, a comprehensive study of energetic
compound synthesis has not been undertaken.
TheOrganic Chemistry of Explosivesby J. P. Agrawal and R. D. Hodgson is a comprehensive
study of the various methods to synthesize the different classes of energetic compounds along
with methods to synthesize the various explosophoric groups that predominate the field. It
is intended to read like a tutorial on energetic compound synthesis, providing a historical
perspective of the various synthetic methods used for energetic compound synthesis, along
with enough details and discussion to understand the nuances of energetic compound synthesis.
TheOrganic Chemistry of Explosivesalso provides a perspective on the possible appli-
cations of various energetic compounds, why they are interesting as explosives or propellant
ingredients, and what advantages and disadvantages they might have compared to other en-
ergetic compounds. Finally, it provides insight into the many factors an energetic compound
synthetic chemist must consider when designing new target compounds and presents the vari-
ous criteria (performance, ease of synthesis, cost, sensitivity to external stimuli, and chemical
and thermal stability) that define whether a given energetic compound will be useful to the
energetic materials community.
Dr. Philip F. Pagoria
Energetic Materials Center
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA 94550
USAxi