Some molecular/crystalline factors that affect the sensitivities of energetic materials: molecular surface electrostatic potentials, lattice free space and maximum heat of detonation per unit volume.

We discuss three molecular/crystalline properties that we believe to be among the factors that influence the impact/shock sensitivities of energetic materials (i.e., their vulnerabilities to unintended detonation due to impact or shock). These properties are (a) the anomalously strong positive electrostatic potentials in the central regions of their molecular surfaces, (b) the free space per molecule in their crystal lattices, and (c) their maximum heats of detonation per unit volume. Overall, sensitivity tends to become greater as these properties increase; however these are general trends, not correlations. Nitramines are exceptions in that their sensitivities show little or no variation with free space in the lattice and heat of detonation per unit volume. We outline some of the events involved in detonation initiation and show how the three properties are related to different ones of these events.