A Mechanistic Insight into the Molecular Mechanism of the Thermal Decomposition of Nitroalkyl Phosphates: MEDT Computational Study

The kinetic aspects and molecular mechanism of the thermal decomposition of nitroalkyl phosphates were evaluated on the basis of DFT quantum-chemical calculations at the ωb97xd/6-311G(d,p) (PCM) level of theory. These reactions were found to proceed via a single-step mechanism with a six-membered transition state. This mechanism is similar to the mechanism of the elimination reaction of carboxylic acids from their esters. However, this is not a pericyclic mechanism. BET studies have shown that migration of hydrogen takes place before the breaking of the C-O bond. The effect of substituents on the nitroalkyl moiety of the ester on the reaction kinetics was also explored. Based on the obtained results, this mechanism can be proposed as general for a wider group of compounds.