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This review paper covers functionalized fullerene, CNTs and GO as components of nanothermites, high explosives, solid propellants and gas generators.

Over the past 20 years, a number of scientists have conducted numerous fundamental investigations based on quantum chemistry theory into various mechanistic processes that seems to contribute to the sensitivity of energetic materials. A large number of theoretical methods that have been used to predict their mechanical and spark sensitivity are summarized in this article, in which the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, together with their scope of use are clarified. In addition, the theoretical models for thermal stability of explosives are briefly introduced as a supplement. It has been concluded that the current ability to predict sensitivity is merely based on a series of empirical rules, such as simple oxygen balance, molecular properties, and the ratios of C and H to oxygen for different classes of explosive compounds. These are valid only for organic classes of explosives, though some special models have been proposed for inorganic explosives, such as azides. An exact standard for sensitivity should be established experimentally by some new techniques for both energetic compounds and their mixtures. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Highly reactive metastable intermixed composites (MICs) have attracted much attention in the past decades. The MIC family of materials mainly includes traditional metal-based nanothermites, novel core-shell-structured, 3D ordered macroporous-structured, and ternary nanocomposites. By applying special fabrication approaches, highly reactive MICs with uniformly dispersed reactants, "layer-by-layer" or "core-shell" structures, can be prepared. Thus, the combustion performance can be greatly improved, and the ignition characteristics and safety can be precisely controlled by using a certain preparation strategy. Here, the preparation and characterization of the MICs that have been developed during the past few decades are summarized. Traditional preparation methods for MICs generally include physical mixing, high-energy ball milling, sol-gel synthesis, and vapor deposition, while the novel methods include self-assembly, electrophoretic deposition, and electrospinning. Various preparation procedures and the ignition and combustion performance of different MIC reactive systems are compared and discussed. In particular, the advantages of novel structured MICs in terms of safety and combustion efficiency are clarified, based on which suggestions regarding the possible future research directions are proposed.

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GO-based energetic coordination polymers are very insensitive to heat and impact due to the high capacity of energy dissipation of GO sheets (M = Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Fe2+).

In this study, new highly energetic coordination polymers (ECPs) were successfully prepared by a facile chemical modification method based on functionalized graphene oxide (GO) sheets. Simple cross-linked GO layers with triaminoguanidine ligand (T) may further be bonded with crystals containing T and transition metal ions (T–M) using cobalt, zinc, silver, or iron as coordination centers, generating 2D-layered energetic hybrid ECPs crystals. Successful functionalization of the prepared ECPs was confirmed by SEM, exhibiting very small crystals (<400 nm). The thermal decomposition of the different T–M complexes, with or without GO–T, was assessed by using simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. It has been revealed that the coordination reaction of GO–T with T–M leads to the production of highly thermostable ECPs. Furthermore, the incorporation of 10% of functionalized GO has improved the thermal stability of T–M crystals. Raman spectroscopy demonstrates that both D and G bands of these new ECPs have been shifted. The different chemical bonding is also confirmed by FTIR and XRD analyses. The catalytic effect of the designed GO–T–M–T energetic composites on the decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX) has been investigated. The results confirmed that those ECPs have strong catalytic effect on decomposition of AP, and it may even stabilize RDX crystals before its thermolysis.