Tetrazole-Based Energetic Metal-Organic Frameworks: Impacts of Metals and Ligands on Explosive Properties

New energetic materials are required to compensate for the shortcomings of the current ones. Especially secondary explosives are the ones with low-sensitivity, while maintaining energetic performance similar to those of primary ones, and particularly useful when safety must be ensured. Herein, we report two energetic metal-organic frameworks (eMOFs), eMOF-1, [Mn₅(mtz)_6.1(atz)_2.9(NO₃)] (mtz=5-methyltetrazole, atz=5-aminotetrazole) and eMOF-2, [Cu(mtz)₂], both of which have unique detonation and sensitivity properties. In particular, eMOF-1, firstly reported here, shows better energetic performance when compared with the previously reported material, Cd-based mtz MOF, an isostructural series. In addition, eMOF-2 synthesized in water shows a great detonation performance, whereas isotopological Zn-based mtz MOF did not show a meaningful performance as an explosive. Therefore, such reticular approach, i. e. replacing metal ions or ligands in isostructural frameworks, can be quite effective for the development of a new breed of energetic materials.