Salt containing pentazolate ion isolated

Ok I love this. The pentazole ring has been formed before, it is stabilized by being attached to a benzene ring. In fact, now that I look into it, a somewhat stable pentazole compound can be made from paracetamol in three steps, which I would be doing now if it didn't require the use of trifluoroacetic acid. But still, that's not a very obscure reagent and most professional labs will have that, but it's not a thing amateur labs have.

This new paper manages for the first time to cleave the benzene ring - pentazole bond. This is amazing, especially considering m-CPBA is not that crazy of a reagent (once again, no home lab will have it but for what i've seen it's a well known lab chemical.) So the thing that makes the C-N bond cleavage, according to the new paper is "formation of cyclo-N5ˉ from arylpentazoles proceeded more efficiently upon increasing the number of electron-donating groups at the meta/para-position of the aryl groups". So the reaction probably doesn't work with the top pentazole, which is a shame. Because that would be paracetamol to free pentazole in a handful of steps.

Still, this is the new forefront of energetic materials research, and I really don't think it's out of reach for us at home.

Reference one: http://sci-hub.bz/10.1021/jo0110754

Reference two (new paper): http://sci-hub.bz/10.1126/science.aah3840

Quote: Originally posted by zts16

I highly doubt an oxidizing anion would be able to be anywhere near a pentazole ring without causing it to blow.

Maybe that iron or other metals (Co, Cr, Ni, Mn, V, U, ...) may form ferrocene (or metallocene) like structures
--> pentaz(a)-ocenes Me(N₅)₂

Wich prove to be stabler ?
Or an explosive disaster (owing to metallic core catalytic effect) ?

FeCl₂ + N₅^(-) -THF-> (N₅)Fe(N₅) + 2 Cl^(-)

Yeah FeN₁₀ --> Fe + 5 N₂(g) + a lot of energy and heat.

Quote: Originally posted by Microtek

While we are on the subject of esoteric energetics, did anyone see this: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/01/27/us-scientists-... There is still some doubt as to whether it actually was metallic hydrogen that they made, and if it was, if it will be metastable at STP. But if it was, and if it is, the predicted performance is quite extraordinary.