Examples of Low-Grade and High-Grade Explosives

Low-grade explosives

Black powder (original gunpowder, also in fireworks, many pipe bombs)

Nitrocellulose (smokeless gunpowder)

Solid rocket fuels (most)

High-grade explosives

Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3)

Amatol 80/20 (NH4NO3 + TNT)

Ammonal (NH4NO3 + TNT + aluminum)

ANFO (NH4NO3 + fuel oil)

Composition B (TNT + RDX)

Composition C-4 (RDX + plasticizer)

Nitroglycerin (the explosive component in dynamite)

PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate)

Picric acid

RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine)

TNT (trinitrotoluene)