Stability and hazard properties of improvised nitrocellulose

Nitrocellulose is a vulnerable and sensitive energetic material that can easily be manufactured from ordinary household chemicals and used for illicit purposes. Hazards of this material can lead to incidents resulting from unplanned initiation in manufacturing, storage or handling. Thermal stability and hazard data for so-called improvised nitrocellulose (IN) are crucial to formulate guidance for storage and handling of such materials recovered from illegal possession. This study focused on the energy content, stability and safety properties of IN. The energy contents increase linearly with nitrogen contents of IN. Improvised nitrocellulose showed a similar sensitivity to impact and electrostatic discharge, but vacuum stability testing demonstrated more gas release (2.8–3.4 cm3 g−1) compared to commercial NC (1.7 cm3 g−1). Chemiluminescence analysis established activation energies for hydrolytic and thermolytic decomposition to be 36 and ~93 kJ mol-1, respectively. Results suggest that NC samples recovered from improvised devices or illegal possession should be handled with special care.