Exploring the potential of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide/Fe2O3 hybrid in enhancing the thermal decomposition process of ammonium perchlorate/ammonium nitrate composite

This study concerns on the preparation of ammonium perchlorate (AP)/ammonium nitrate (AN) composite catalyzed with nitrogen-doped graphene oxide/iron oxide nanoparticles (N-GO/nFe2O3). Graphene-based materials with exceptional physical characteristics have garnered significant interest within the energetic materials domain. It is worth highlighting that the attributes of graphene can be altered through the introduction of heteroatoms. In this context, nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (N-GO) exhibits an adjustable hierarchical structure and boasts substantial surface area. The AP/AN composite was characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, thermal decomposition proprieties of AP/AN and AP/AN@N-GO/nFe2O3 were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. Kinetic study using various isoconversional methods was applied to DSC data collected from different heating rates. Additionally, the critical ignition temperature was calculated. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the catalyst has a pronounced catalytic effect on the breakdown process of the AP/AN composite. Notably, this effect leads to a significant reduction in both the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor. Hence, the AP/AN@N-GO/nFe2O3 could be regarded as a promising oxidant in the formulation of composite solid propellants.