Azidated oxetanic polymers such as poly(3‐azidomethyl‐3‐methyl oxetane), are under investigation as “energetic” binder to be used as an alternative to polybutadiene in solid rocket propellants. The classic synthetic route for the production of the polymer is through an azidated monomer where the N3− functionality has been previously introduced by nucleophilic displacement of a suitable, usually a halogen, leaving group. However, this could involve critical steps with manipulation of a highly unstable liquid monomer. Here it is shown that the azidation can be performed as the final step of the preparation by substitution of the tosyl group in a preformed polymer. The procedure assures good yield and purity of the product and satisfactory rate of reaction, being the energetic functionality always kept in a safe form, which shows low shock and friction sensitivity. Poly(3‐azidomethyl‐3‐methyl oxetane) was prepared by azidation of poly(3‐tosyloxymethyl‐3‐methyl oxetane) in dimethylsulfoxide, testing several operating conditions. Moreover, hypothesizing a second order kinetics, the rate constant and the activation energy for the azidation step have been estimated.
In the solid rocket propellant formulations an important component is the polymeric binder. Actually, the most used binder is hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene. However, the research is oriented toward the use of energetic polymers which, in addition to the binder function, should improve the propulsion capability of the propellant. In this respect, good candidates are oxetanic polyethers with azidic functionalities in their side chains. Considering the explosive character of such materials, their synthesis must be designed with attention to the safety of the process. In this note, the preparation of azidic copolymers is described and different synthetic strategies are discussed and compared.
In previous papers, the synthesis and characterization of OH-terminated glycidyl azide-r-(3,3-bis(azidomethyl)oxetane) copolymers (GA/BAMO) and poly-3-azidomethyl-3-methyl oxetane (pAMMO) by azidation of their respective polymeric substrates were described. The main objective was the preparation of amorphous azido-polymers, as substitutes of hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) in new formulations of energetic propellants. Here, the subsequent characterization of both the binders is presented. First of all, several isocyanates were checked in order to optimize the curing reaction, and then two small-scale formulations of a propellant, based on aluminium and ammonium perchlorate, were prepared and characterized. Finally, the mechanical properties and burning rate were compared to those of a similar propellant based on HTPB as binder
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