
LIVERMORE, Calif., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. government scientists say they've developed a "green" method that makes some explosives safer and more stable.
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers say they added unique green solvents -- ionic liquids -- to an explosive called TATB and improved its crystal quality and chemical purity.
"Improving crystal quality and purity leads to explosive materials that are (less likely to react violently) when subjected to mechanical impact or heat," said Larry Fried, the project's principal investigator.
The scientists said most explosives belong to a class of materials called molecular crystals that are bound by hydrogen-bonds, making the materials nearly insoluble in general organic solvents. That, in turn, hinders many technological applications.
The researchers, using quantum mechanical simulations, found a special class of ionic liquids -- a type of molten salt that becomes liquid under the boiling point of water-- that can dissolve hydrogen-bonded materials.
"The design of custom solvents through first principles modeling opens up new possibilities for the dissolution of materials that are hard to dissolve," Amitesh Maiti, the study's lead author, said.
The research appears in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Science News Stories | |
MONTREAL, June 1 (UPI) --
Police in Montreal Friday identified a man who was killed and dismembered as a Chinese university student and said the suspect in the case may be in France.
|
TEL AVIV, Israel, June 1 (UPI) --
U.S. pop icon Madonna issued a call for peace in the Middle East during her concert at Israel's Ramat Gan Stadium.
|
MIAMI, June 1 (UPI) --
U.S. forecasters say a new statistical model will help determine a hurricane's strength and size as the official 2012 Atlantic hurricane season gets under way.
|
Officer inadvertently shoots wife in butt … Littering case over dollar dropped … Man running as VoteforEddie.com … Volunteers rescue injured eaglet … Watercooler stories from UPI.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption