Energy of charged states in the RDX crystal: trapping of charge-transfer pairs as a possible mechanism for initiating detonation.

Calculations for the crystalline energetic material RDX (1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane) yield the effective polarizability (17.2 angstroms3), local electric field tensor, effective dipole moment (9.40 D), and dipole-dipole energy (-27.2 kJ/mol). Fourier-transform techniques give the polarization energy P for a single charge in the perfect crystal as -1.14 eV; the charge-dipole energy W(D) is zero if the crystal carries no bulk dipole moment. Polarization energies for charge-transfer (CT) pairs combine with the Coulomb energy E(C) to give the screened Coulomb energy E(scr); screening is nearly isotropic with E(scr) approximately = E(C)2.6. For CT pairs W(D) reduces to a term deltaW(D) arising from the interaction of the charge on each ion with the change in dipole moment on the other ion relative to the neutral molecule. The dipole moments are calculated as 7.40 D for the neutral molecule and 6.84 D and 7.44 D for the anion and cation, giving the lowest two CT pairs at -1.34 eV and -0.94 eV. The changes in P and W(D) near a molecular vacancy yield traps with depths that reach 400 meV for single charges and 185 meV for the nearest-neighbor CT pair. Divacancies yield traps with depths nearly equal to the sum of those produced by the separate vacancies. These results are consistent with a mechanism in which detonation of RDX is initiated by mechanical generation of CT pairs that localize at vacancies, recombine, and release energy sufficient to break bonds; crystals of molecules with lower dipole moments should be less sensitive.