Today I tried to oxidize a 24/76 mixture of fine powdered hexamine and water free barium nitrate (purity 99.5%). The reaction was as hesitant as with alkali metal nitrates before. You have to remember, barium nitrate reacts normally vigorously with common reducing agents. When mixed with many metals such as aluminium or zinc in their finely divided form, or combined with alloys such as aluminium-magnesium, ignites and explodes on impact. It seems that hexamine can't either oxidized with alkali metal nitrates nor alkaline earth metal nitrates. Every interested chemist is welcome to verify my results and find an explanation.

A possibility could be that alkali metal nitrates and alkaline earth metal nitrates acting as a kind of catalyst, lowering the decomposition temperature of hexamine, so it decomposes into ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and other products without or hesitant burning. However, still a lot of metal nitrates have to be tested. Maybe it can be used later after all verifications are done as a method for detection of some metals.

Hesitant burning hexamine/barium nitrate mixture with typical green barium flame:

Author: M. Bindhammer, Team Selene