Nitrolysis is a

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking ...

involving cleavage ("lysis") of a

chemical bond A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms or ions that enables the formation of molecules and crystals. The bond may result from the electrostatic force between oppositely charged ions as in ionic bonds, or through the sharing of ...

concomitant with installation of a nitro group (NO₂). Typical reagents for effecting this conversion are

nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available ni ...

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 tri nitramide widely used as an

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

.{{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

References

Chemical reactions Nitration reactions