Acidic ionic liquids and green and recyclable catalysts in the clean nitration of TAIW to CL-20 using HNO3 electrolyte

A novel method for the synthesis of CL-20 by nitration of TAIW was investigated. HNO3 electrolyte, containing generated dinitrogen pentoxide and unreacted dinitrogen tetraoxide, was directly used as a nitrating agent and the result was encouraging. A series of SO3H-functionalized ionic liquids were utilized to further improve the result. The satisfactory yield of CL-20 (94%) makes it a useful method for the green and clean synthesis of CL-20.