Pressure-induced transformations of bis(tetrazolyl)amine and cyanuric triazide probed by vibrational spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction

As promising high energetic materials, bis(tetrazolyl)amine (BTA) and cyanuric triazide (CTA) have been studied extensively due to their high nitrogen content. Here we report the first in situ high-pressure study of BTA and CTA using vibrational spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. A reversible phase transformation of BTA was observed in the compression-decompression cycle. For CTA, we observed an interesting phase transformation as evidenced by the color change of the sample as well as the change in the Raman profile and X-Ray diffraction patterns. The transformations of BTA and CTA provide more understanding of the high-pressure behavior of nitrogen-rich materials and guidance for the further developments of energetic materials.