Fulminate
From Freepedia
Fulminates are chemical compounds which includes the fulminate anion. The fulminate anion is a pseudohalic anion, acting like a halogen with its charge and reactivity. Due to the instability of the anion, they are friction-sensitive explosives. The most well known is Mercury fulminate which has been used as a primary explosive in detonators. Fulminates can be formed from metals, like silver and mercury, dissolved in nitric acid and reacted with alcohol The chemical formula for the fulminate anion is O-N+C-. It is largely the presence of the weak single Nitrogen-Oxygen bond which leads to its instability. Nitrogen very easily forms a stable triple bond to another Nitrogen atom, forming gaseous Nitrogen.
