Synthesis, Stability, and Energetics of High Energy Rocket Propellant Ingredients at Cryogenic Temperatures.

Uniquely combined high energy excitation and cryogenic quenching arrangements were employed to synthesize unusual molecules of importance in chemical energy storage, high energy propulsion, and inorganic high temperature polymers. Cryogenic reaction and instrumentation facilities were designed and developed using principally mass spectrometric and infrared techniques. The molecular energetics of all interesting product species were developed from controlled energy electron bombardment techniques, and several recent LCAO-MO-SCF computational procedures were successfully modified and applied to the prediction and correlation of the energetics of both proposed and successfully synthesized product species. Attention was centered when postulated hydrides and fluorides of the light noble gases, the lower boron-hydrides, nitrogen-oxygen-fluorine compounds, and the boron-nitrogen isoelectronic analogs of acetylene, ethylene, and their halogenated derivatives. A listing with brief individual resumes of the 13 journal articles containing the detailed technical results of this project are presented in this final report. Author