Synthesis and isotopic characterization of 1,3,5-trinitroso-1,3,5-triazine (R-Salt)

IF 2.9 3区医学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL

Forensic Chemistry Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2025-10-25 DOI:10.1016/j.forc.2025.100706

Yinghua Wang , Tony Peter , James F. Carter

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Abstract

Hexamine is a precursor chemical for commercial explosives such as RDX and HMX and homemade explosive such as HMTD and R-Salt. Although now controlled in some jurisdictions, hexamine was still available in Australia in the form of solid fuel tablets. The other ingredient of R-Salt, sodium nitrite, was available with few restrictions.

We report the isotopic compositions of hexamine derived from solid fuel tablets and sodium nitrite available in 2024. The isotopic compositions for 18 samples of hexamine spanned wider ranges than previously reported: δ²H from −179 to +104 ‰, δ¹³C from −49.7 to −25.0 ‰ and δ¹⁵N from −6.5 to +3.7 ‰. The nitrogen isotopic compositions of 17 samples of sodium nitrite ranged from −166.9 to +3.1 ‰ representing some of the most ¹⁵N depleted values reported for natural materials.

32 batches of R-Salt were synthesised from selected samples of hexamine and sodium nitrite. Progressing from hexamine to R-Salt, δ²H values became more positive by between +5.2 and + 18 ‰ and δ¹³C values became more positive by between +12.3 and + 14.6 ‰. A combination of these data presents a means to associate samples of R-Salt with precursor hexamine.

The contributions of hexamine and sodium nitrite to the nitrogen isotopic compositions of R-Salt were combined by a simple mass-balance equation. Using this model the δ¹⁵N values of R-Salt were more negative than the combined precursors by between −2.0 and − 1.1 ‰. This presents an additional means to associate samples of R-Salt with both precursor chemicals.

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1,3,5-三硝基-1,3,5-三嗪（R-Salt）的合成及同位素表征

Hexamine是商用炸药（如RDX和HMX）和自制炸药（如HMTD和R-Salt）的前体化学品。虽然现在在一些司法管辖区受到控制，但在澳大利亚仍然可以以固体燃料片剂的形式获得。r -盐的另一种成分亚硝酸钠几乎没有限制。我们报告了2024年从固体燃料片和亚硝酸钠中提取的氢的同位素组成。18个样品的同位素组成范围比以往报道的更宽：δ2H在−179 ~ +104‰，δ13C在−49.7 ~−25.0‰，δ15N在−6.5 ~ +3.7‰。17个亚硝酸钠样品的氮同位素组成范围在- 166.9 ~ +3.1‰之间，代表了一些天然材料中最具15N耗尽值。以亚硝酸钠为原料，合成了32批R-Salt。从hexamine到R-Salt， δ2H值增加了+5.2 ~ + 18‰，δ13C值增加了+12.3 ~ + 14.6‰。这些数据的组合提供了一种将R-Salt样品与前体hexamine相关联的方法。用一个简单的质量平衡方程结合了亚硝酸钠和亚硝酸钠对r -盐氮同位素组成的贡献。在此模型下，R-Salt的δ15N值比组合前驱体负- 2.0 ~ - 1.1‰。这提供了另一种将R-Salt样品与两种前体化学品相关联的方法。

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来源期刊

Forensic Chemistry CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL-

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

14.80%

发文量

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Forensic Chemistry publishes high quality manuscripts focusing on the theory, research and application of any chemical science to forensic analysis. The scope of the journal includes fundamental advancements that result in a better understanding of the evidentiary significance derived from the physical and chemical analysis of materials. The scope of Forensic Chemistry will also include the application and or development of any molecular and atomic spectrochemical technique, electrochemical techniques, sensors, surface characterization techniques, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, chemometrics and statistics, and separation sciences (e.g. chromatography) that provide insight into the forensic analysis of materials. Evidential topics of interest to the journal include, but are not limited to, fingerprint analysis, drug analysis, ignitable liquid residue analysis, explosives detection and analysis, the characterization and comparison of trace evidence (glass, fibers, paints and polymers, tapes, soils and other materials), ink and paper analysis, gunshot residue analysis, synthetic pathways for drugs, toxicology and the analysis and chemistry associated with the components of fingermarks. The journal is particularly interested in receiving manuscripts that report advances in the forensic interpretation of chemical evidence. Technology Readiness Level: When submitting an article to Forensic Chemistry, all authors will be asked to self-assign a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to their article. The purpose of the TRL system is to help readers understand the level of maturity of an idea or method, to help track the evolution of readiness of a given technique or method, and to help filter published articles by the expected ease of implementation in an operation setting within a crime lab.