Two potential energetic compounds: Ammonium superoxide and ammonium ozonide

Abstract Two proposed ionic compounds, NH4O2 and NH4O3, are discussed in terms of several properties related to energetic performance. These include oxygen content, moles of gas produced and heat released upon decomposition, and specific impulse. The heat release was calculated in each instance using the predicted lattice energy, which was obtained from the computed electrostatic potential on the surface of the negative ion. NH4O2 is found to be superior to HMX in each property considered, while NH4O3 is better than HMX in some and comparable in the others.