A new approach for assessment of shelf life of ammonium dinitramide as a green high-performance oxidizer in solid phase through using appropriate stabilizers

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) serves as a high-performance oxidizer, offering the advantage of producing non-hazardous combustion products. However, its practical application is hindered by low thermal stability and storage challenges. To address these issues, the incorporation of stabilizers presents a viable solution for enhancing the thermal stability and extending the shelf life of ADN compounds. This study presents a novel method for assessing the shelf life of ADN when combined with suitable stabilizers. The isothermal method of mass loss is proposed as an effective approach for calculating the kinetic parameters and shelf life of ADN materials in the presence of different stabilizers, including ammonium metavanadate (AMV), 3-nitro-N-methylaniline (MNA), and hexamethylenetetramine (HEX). Mass loss measurements are conducted on pure ADN, ADN/HEX, ADN/AMV, and ADN/MNA at temperatures of 55, 65, and 75 degrees C. Considering a 5% mass loss as a critical point, the shelf life of pure ADN can be extended to 14 years with ADN/MNA, 22.6 years with ADN/HEX, and 23.1 years with ADN/AMV, compared to the original 4.15 years. The reliability of using isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for assessing the shelf life of ADN/stabilizer compounds is confirmed in comparison with non-isothermal DSC methods. A linear correlation is identified between the shelf life of ADN samples (5% mass loss) in years and the change in the melting point of aged samples at 75 degrees C after 15 days. This study recommends AMV as a suitable stabilizer for propellants containing ADN.