MOX (M = Zn, Co, Fe)/AP shell-core nanocomposites for self-catalytical decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

To overcome the agglomeration of metal oxide (MOX) nanocatalysts mechanically mixed with ammonium perchlorate (AP) and other additives of rocket propellant, the shell-core nanocomposites of MOX/AP have been synthesized successfully by a facile liquid deposition method at room temperature. SEM analysis revealed that MOX (M = Zn, Co, Fe) nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of AP particles as either a continuous thin layer or small clusters. Owing to the existence of the shell of MOX nanocatalysts, ZnO/AP, Co3O4/AP and Fe2O3/AP nanocomposites showed excellent self-catalytic performances for AP thermal decomposition: lowering the decomposition temperature from 398 degrees C to 272 degrees C, 285 degrees C, 337 degrees C, and increasing the heat release from 584 J g(-1) to 1137 J g(-1), 1237 J g(-1), 1010 J g(-1), respectively. Moreover, their self-catalytic performances mainly relied on the content of MOX nanocatalysts, which was controlled by the concentration of metal salts in the precursor solution. In particular, ZnO/AP nanocomposites with the mass ratio of ZnO:AP = 4: 100 exhibited the best self-catalytic performance in decreasing the activation energy from 154.0 kJ/mol to 96.5 kJ/mol. The MOX/AP (M = Zn, Co, Fe) shell-core nanocomposites could have a promising application in the rocket propellant for improving the thermal-catalytic decomposition performance of AP. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.