Modification of electrostatic sensitivity by the resonant absorption of N-N bond under carbon dioxide laser irradiation

Quantitatively modulating sensitivity of the energetic materials while minimizing detonation energy impact is a persistent challenge as conventional modification methods often sacrifice energy output.Herein, we propose a novel strategy utilizing resonant absorption of vibrational energy levels by specific laser wavelengths to induce thermal effects, leading to controlled lattice disruption with negligible molecular changes.By this method, the irradiation with a 10.6 μm CO 2 laser line on RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) reduces electrostatic sensitivity by 30%, while detonation-related parameters (e.g., velocity, pressure) remain within acceptable error margins.Structural characterization confirmed irradiation-induced crystallographic changes and subtle molecular modifications in RDX. This finding highlights the underlying mechanism of the reduction process. CO 2 laser photons are resonantly absorbed by the N-N bonds in RDX molecules, inducing thermal effects in the crystal lattice, leading to crystal melting and partial N-NO 2 bond breakage, significantly reducing sensitivity. • A new technology for quantitatively modulating the sensitivity of RDX is discovered. • After CO2 laser irradiation, the electrostatic sensitivity of RDX is reduced by 30%, but the energy level is basically unaffected. • The irradiated RDX was comprehensively characterized by a variety of characterization methods. • The main reason for the reduction of RDX sensitivity is that the CO2 laser photons are resonantly absorbed by the stretching of the N-N bond of the RDX molecule.