Mesoporous Silica Spheres Incorporated Aluminum/Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride) for Enhanced Burning Propellants

In this paper, we demonstrate that preparation by electrospray deposition of mesoporous SiO2 particles can be employed as additives to Aluminum/Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride) (Al/PVDF) to enhance reaction velocity. We find that the reaction velocity of Al/PVDF with 5wt% SiO2 is 3x higher. The presence of meso-SiO2 appears to accelerate the decomposition of PVDF, with a significant increase in HF release, resulting in higher heat release. We believe that hot-spots around meso-SiO2 may serve as multiple ignition points, with the multi-layered structure promoting heat convection to increase the propagation rate.