Preparation and characterization of ultrafine RDX

This paper describes the synthesis of ultrafine Hexogen (UF-RDX) of size <5μm by drowning-out crystallization. RDX was precipitated from acetone or dimethylformamide (DMF) solution by reducing the solvent power using either a miscible, non-aqueous antisolvent, n-hexane, or an aqueous antisolvent, water containing polyethylene glycol (PEG). Process parameters such as solvent/ antisolvent ratio, agitation, ultrasonication etc. were studied. UF-RDX was characterized for Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and sensitivity tests. In the case of the non-aqueous antisolvent, the precipitated RDX crystals were rod shaped of diameter <1 μm. For the aqueous antisolvent, oval shaped crystals (<5 μm) were precipitated. UF-RDX was found to be more sensitive to impact and less friction sensitive compared to production grade RDX (60-80 μm).