Synthesis, crystal structure and thermal properties of energetic complex Ni(Ⅱ) and Cd(Ⅱ) based on bis(5-nitroimino-1,2,4-triazole-3-yl) methane

•Two BNTM metal complexes were synthesized and their crystal structures were obtained.•Thermal decomposition behavior of two complexes.•Thermal decomposition of HMX catalyzed by cadmium complexes.•Metal complexes are not sensitive to mechanical shock. Two new energy-containing combustion catalysts were synthesized using bis(5-nitroimino-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methane (BNTM) as the organic ligand, and their crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that both complexes belong to the orthogonal crystal system with the space group of Pnma, and the minimum structure unit consists of one negative divalent anion, one metal ion, four coordinated water and two binding water molecule. In addition, the thermal decomposition behavior of two dried complexes and their catalytic effect on RDX and HMX found that the Cd complex have a good catalytic effect on HMX, reducing the thermal decomposition temperature and the apparent activation energy by 2.83 °C and 89.72 kJ/mol, respectively. Meanwhile, the impact susceptibility of the synthesized complexes was measured, and the result indicated that both of them have the good bluntness and stability.