A disodium salt of azotetrazolate (SAZ) has been prepared and characterized by elemental, UV, C-13 NMR, FT-IR, and crystallographic analyses. Single crystals of the pentahydrate were grown by slow evaporation of an aqueous solution under reduced pressure. The crystal structure of SAZ has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The crystal lattice is triclinic P (1) over bar (no. 2) with lattice parameters a = 7.115(1) Angstrom, b = 7.559(1) Angstrom, c = 12.025(1) Angstrom, alpha = 79.75(1)degrees, beta = 81.12(1)degrees, gamma = 68.16(1)degrees and V = 587.97(12) Angstrom(3). Explosion delay studies have been undertaken using the tube furnace technique. The thermal stability of the compound has been discussed in the light of TG-DSC and explosion delay. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.