Photodegradation of bis(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)amine (H2BTA), a high nitrogen content tetrazole-based energetic compound in water.

Tetrazoles have wide industrial applications, notably in the pharmaceutical industry. Tetrazole derivatives such as bis(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)amine (H2BTA) have recently been considered by the defense industry as high nitrogen composite propellants. Photodegradation studies under solar simulating conditions showed that H2BTA was partially degraded in water, while it was completely degraded under UV light at 254 nm. When H2BTA (0.35 mM) was irradiated with simulated sunlight at pH 3.65, there was a 1-day lag phase before the chemical started to degrade, reaching 43.5% degradation after 7 d. However, when pH increased to 5.76, it degraded without lag phase, suggesting that an HBTA- anion was involved in the initial degradation of the chemical. 5-Aminotetrazole (5-AT) was identified as a final degradation product and N-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)formamide(T(5 yl)FA) and 1H-tetrazol-5-ylcarbamic acid (T(5 yl)CA) as intermediate products. At λ = 254 nm, H2BTA disappeared rapidly, resulting in the loss of 94% after 65 min. 5-AT was detected together with several transient products including N-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)carbamohydrazonic acid (T(5 yl)CHA) and T(5 yl)FA. Kinetic studies and products analysis revealed that H2BTA photodegraded via two initial routes. One route (a) marked by the initial loss of HN3 and another (b) marked by the initial loss of N2. Route a) was characteristics for irradiation with simulated sunlight; however, routes a) and b) proceeded simultaneously under UV light. 5-AT eventually degraded to presumably give N2 and/or HN3 under UV light. Understanding the photodegradation pathway of H2BTA under simulated sunlight can help in providing the basis for natural attenuation assessment of the chemical in contaminated aquatic environments.