Ferrocene-based hydrazone energetic transition-metal complexes as multifunctional combustion catalysts for the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

Three novel ferrocene-based hydrazone energetic transition-metal complexes denoted as M/E-FcDz-TMCs (M = Co (II), Fe (III), and Co(II)Fe(III)), were successfully prepared to improve the thermal decom-position of ammonium perchlorate (AP) and anti-migration performance of Fc-based catalysts. 1-hydrazinoethylene-ferrocene (E-FcDz) with unique electronic structure and energy bonds (C@N, NAN) as ligand reacted with transition metal Co, or Fe mono-metal nodes, and Co-Fe bimetal nodes, respec-tively. The chemical structure, crystalline texture, and morphology were confirmed, and the catalytic per-formance was investigated. The thermal decomposition kinetics were estimated by applying Kissinger, FWO, and KAS methods. The results revealed that M/E-FcDz-TMCs had superior catalytic performances for AP decomposition compared to the traditional catalyst catocene due to their high electron transport capacity. Especially, CoFe/E-FcDz-TMCs showed the best catalytic efficiency due to the hybridization between Co (II) 3d and Fe (III) 3d orbitals in the structure led to electron redistribution, driving the opti-mal synergistic catalytic effect of the bimetal Co-Fe nodes and E-FcDz, and further enhancing catalysis for AP. Moreover, AP/CoFe/E-FcDzTMCs showed the best combustion performance. In addition, the thermal decomposition products of AP were explored by TG/FTIR, and the AP thermal decomposition process could be explained by a possible mechanism following the principle of electron transfer theory. (c) 2022 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.