SECOND HARMONIC GENERATION (SHG) STUDIES OF 1, 3, 5‐TRIAMINO‐2, 4, 6‐TRINITROBENZENE (TATB)

Structural changes and chemical degradation can affect the performance and stability of explosives. We perform second harmonic generation (SHG) and X‐ray powder diffraction studies on TATB to probe possible structural changes in TATB at elevated temperatures. X‐ray results showed decomposition above 310° C, and did not show evidence of a phase transition or an additional polymorphic form. SHG experiments with a 10 ns pulsed laser indicated good second harmonic conversion efficiency, and we demonstrate the UV‐vis spectrum of TATB. These results are preliminary steps to future SHG experiments which will further investigate changes in TATB at elevated temperatures and pressures.