Study on reactions of 2-(dinitromethylene)-4,5-imidazolidinedione

Some new reactions of 2-(dinitromethylene)-4,5-imidazolidinedione (1) with water, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and alkalis were discovered. By reaction of 1 with carboxylic acids, large particle size 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (2) was prepared. By reaction of 1 with methanol, the methanol adduct (4) was synthesized and characterized. By reaction of 1 with water, the synthetic pathway of 2-methylimidazole to 2 could be achieved in a continuous process. By reaction of 1 with KOH, 2 and potassium dinitromethane (6) could be formed at different temperature, respectively. Compounds 1 and 4 decomposed into parabanic acid (5), losing nitrogen oxides and carbon oxides. Some explosive properties of 1 were studied. The mechanisms of synthesis of 1, 2, and 5 are discussed.