Study of the influence of the synthesis process on the sublimation of TATP and HMTD by thermal gravimetric analysis

The influence of two important parameters in the synthesis of TATP (the type of catalyst and the presence or absence of stirring during the precipitation process) on its sublimation was studied by thermal gravimetric analysis. TATP synthesised with H₂SO₄ as catalyst and without stirring during the precipitation process sublimates faster than the other types, due to its transformation in DADP under influence of the presence of residual acid. Between the other types of TATP, where no transformation to DADP was observed, only small differences in sublimation rate were measured. These differences are related to their different sublimation temperatures as observed during DSC experiments. The influence of the same synthesis parameters on the sublimation of HMTD was also investigated. Unlike TATP, HMTD decomposes during sublimation. This decomposition depends on the synthesis parameters. AKTS simulations show that the HMTD synthesis parameters have an influence on the temperature dependency of the kinetic parameters of the HMTD decomposition.