A novel synthetic method of 1,1,4,4-tetramethyl-2-tetrazene (TMTZ) via photocatalytic reaction

1,1,4,4-Tetramethyl-2-tetrazene (TMTZ), a potential candidate for replacing 1,1-dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), has excellent properties including a high specific impulse, non-toxicity and non-volatility. However, most synthetic methods depicted in the literature use stoichiometric oxidative coupling, and the oxidizing agents are usually heavy metals or halogens, leading to low synthetic efficiency and high environmental pollution. In order to overcome these problems, it is necessary to explore more environmentally friendly and catalytic synthetic methods. In this paper, a method of photocatalytic oxidative coupling for the preparation of TMTZ was reported for the first time. By using an organic photocatalyst Eosin Y, TMTZ was synthesized rapidly and efficiently. The thermal decomposition properties of TMTZ were studied, and different performance characteristics between TMTZ and UDMH were determined and analyzed, which provided a basis for the application of TMTZ based new liquid propellant.