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Modified Nanoenergetic Composites with Tunable Combustion Characteristics for Propellant Applications
Author(s) -
Bezmelnitsyn Andrey,
Thiruvengadathan Rajagopalan,
Barizuddin Syed,
Tappmeyer Daniel,
Apperson Steven,
Gangopadhyay Keshab,
Gangopadhyay Shubhra,
Redner Paul,
Donadio Mike,
Kapoor Deepak,
Nicolich Steven
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.56
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1521-4087
pISSN - 0721-3115
DOI - 10.1002/prep.200800077
Subject(s) - materials science , combustion , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , mesoporous material , ammonium perchlorate , composite material , chemical engineering , thermogravimetric analysis , propellant , polymer , scanning electron microscope , composite number , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering , catalysis
This work reports on the synthesis and tunable characteristics of nanothermite compositions based on mesoporous Fe 2 O 3 as an oxidizer and Al nanoparticles as a fuel. The reactivity (rate of increase of pressure) and the combustion wave speed were determined to evaluate the performance of these composites for various applications. A gas generating polymer, (acrylamidomethyl) cellulose acetate butyrate (AAMCAB), was loaded in the mesopores of Fe 2 O 3 matrix following wet‐impregnation technique. The samples prepared in this work were characterized by a number of analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM, SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms. Then, mesoporous Fe 2 O 3 powder was mixed with Al nanoparticles to prepare nanoenergetic composites. The main characteristics such as peak pressure, reactivity, combustion wave speed, and pressure sustenance were determined as a function of polymer loading. The dependence of combustion wave speed on the pressure was established following the well‐known Vieille's law. The small value of 0.408 for the pressure exponent indicates the suitability of these nanothermite compositions for propellant applications. By reducing the percentage of polymer, the characteristic properties of nanoenergetic composite can be suitably tuned for other applications.