Nitrolysis

File:RDX.svg

Nitrolysis is a chemical reaction involving cleavage ("lysis") of a chemical bond concomitant with installation of a nitro group (NO₂). Typical reagents for effecting this conversion are nitric acid and acetyl nitrate. A commercially important nitrolysis reaction is the conversion of hexamine to nitramide. Nitrolysis of hexamine is also used to produce RDX, (O₂NNCH₂)₃, a trinitramide widely used as an explosive.{{cite book|first=Jacques|last=Boileau|first2=Claude|last2=Fauquignon|first3=Bernard|last3=Hueber|first4=Hans H.|last4=Meyer|chapter=Explosives|title=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry|page=641|year=2009|publisher=Wiley-VCH|location=Weinheim|doi=10.1002/14356007.a10_143.pub2}}