Octaazacubane

Octaazacubane
Other names Octaazapentacyclo[4.2.0.02,5.03,8.04,7]octane; Cubaazane; Nitrogen octaatomic molecule
Identifiers
CAS number	78998-15-9 Y
Jmol-3D images	Image 1
SMILES N12N3N4N1N5N4N3N52
Properties
Molecular formula	N8
Molar mass	112.05 g mol−1
Density	2.69 g/cm3 (predicted)[1]
Y (verify) (what is: Y/N?) Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Octaazacubane is a hypothetical allotrope of nitrogen, whose molecules have eight atoms arranged into a cube. (By comparison, nitrogen usually occurs as the diatomic molecule N₂.) It can be regarded as a derivative of cubane, where all eight carbon atoms (and their corresponding hydrogen atoms) have been replaced with a nitrogen atom.^[2] It is predicted to be a metastable molecule, in which despite the thermodynamic instability caused by bond strain, and the high energy of the N-N single bonds, the molecule remains kinetically stable for reasons of orbital symmetry.^[3]

Explosive and fuel

Octaazacubane is predicted to have an energy density (assuming decomposition into N₂) of 22.9 MJ / kg,^[4] which is over 5 times the standard value of TNT. It has therefore been proposed (along with other exotic nitrogen allotropes) as an explosive, and as a component of high performance rocket fuel.^[5] Its velocity of detonation is predicted to be 15,000 m/s, much (50%) more than any known nonnuclear explosive.^[6]

See also

• Tetranitrogen (Nitrogen allotrope with formula N₄)
• Hexazine (Nitrogen allotrope with formula N₆)
• Octanitrocubane

References

1. ^ Agrawal, Jai Prakash (2010). High Energy Materials: Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics. Online: Wiley-VCH. pp. 498. ISBN 9783527628803. http://books.google.com/books?id=rqZROysoS7QC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=octaazacubane&source=bl&ots=Ou5l7PbMJm&sig=cHhuquQ5LbBh-KCJfK-k43YRYCA&hl=en&ei=DQiZTtPeCabg0QG50ozFBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ve. 
2. ^ B. Muir. "Cubane". http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/local/projects/b_muir/Cubane/Cubanepro/Start.html(See under "further topics" section.) 
3. ^ Ujwala N. Patil, Nilesh R. Dhumal and Shridhar P. Gejji. "Theoretical studies on the molecular electron densities and electrostatic potentials in azacubanes". Theoretical Chemistry Accounts: Theory, Computation, and Modeling (Theoretica Chimica Acta) 112: p. 27-32. http://www.springerlink.com/content/w3pap8xmmju00j3e/. 
4. ^ Mikhail N. Glukhovtsev, Haijun Jiao, and Paul von Ragué Schleyer. "Besides N2, What Is the Most Stable Molecule Composed Only of Nitrogen Atoms?". Inorganic Chemistry 35: p. 7124–7133. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ic9606237. 
5. ^ "Exploding the mysteries of nitrogen.". Chemistry and Industry. http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/60525404.html. 
6. ^ Agrawal, Jai Prakash (2010). High Energy Materials: Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics. Online: Wiley-VCH. pp. 498. ISBN 9783527628803. http://books.google.com/books?id=rqZROysoS7QC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=octaazacubane&source=bl&ots=Ou5l7PbMJm&sig=cHhuquQ5LbBh-KCJfK-k43YRYCA&hl=en&ei=DQiZTtPeCabg0QG50ozFBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ve.