Preparation of Ammonium Nitrate by Isotope Substitution and Its Performance Characterization

Two types of,5N substituted ammonium nitrate, namely 15NH4N03 and NH4,5N03, were prepared by using isotope Substitution technique to replace,4N in ammonium nitrate (NH4N03) with l3N. The apparent morphology and chemical struc-ture of,5N substituted ammonium nitrate were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Its density, decomposition temperature, hygroscopicity, sensitivity, detonation velocity, and heat of explosion were tested by true density analyzer, differential scanning calorimeter, desiccator equilibrium method, and micro-charge laser ignition technique. The results show that, compared with common ammonium nitrate, the chemical structure of,5N substituted ammonium nitrate is almost unchanged. The density of NHL,5N03 and,5NHLN03 increases from 1. 72 g/cm3 to 1.75 g/cm3 and 1.76 g/cm3, the hygroscopic speed decreases to 97. 1 % and 95.2%, respectively. And the sensitivity and thermal stability are almost the same. The detonation Performance tested by a self-built micro-charge laser ignition device show that the detonation velocity of NH4'5N03 and,5NH4N03 increases to 6610m/s and 6680m/s, and the heat of explosion increases to 3730kJ/kg and 3 840kJ/kg, respectively, proving that stable isotope Substitution technology can be an alternative to further enhance the Performance of existing high-energy materials. © 2024 China Ordnance Industry Corporation. All rights reserved.