They are prepared by nitrolysis of hexamethylenetetramine. D 1886 for work on Hexamethylenetetramine with August Wilhelm von Hofmann. The solid fuel can be sand that is sufficiently covered in ethanol or hexamethylenetetramine. The first structure of an organic compound, hexamethylenetetramine, was solved in 1923. It contains hexamine (hexamethylenetetramine) and thiocyanate. One mole of hexamethylenetetramine could produce at most one mole of RDX. This conversion is achieved by treating hexamethylenetetramine with formaldehyde and tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine. Ideally, the combination process could produce two moles of RDX from each mole of hexamethylenetetramine. A commercially important nitrolysis reaction is the conversion of hexamethylenetetramine to the nitramide. Methylene imine (CH=NH) is also highly reactive, condensing to hexamethylenetetramine. Hexamethylenetetramine forms readily from aqueous ammonia and formaldehyde. Hexamethylenetetramine is a hardener added to crosslink novolac. Hexamethylenetetramine is a versatile reagent in organic synthesis. Hexamethylenetetramine was discovered by Aleksandr Butlerov in 1859. An example (although not derived from a diamine) is hexamethylenetetramine derived from ammonia and formaldehyde.