Combustion Effects of Nitrofulleropyrrolidine on RDX‐CMDB Propellants

Abstract

The effect of N‐methyl‐2‐(3‐nitrophenyl)pyrrolidino[3′,4′:1,2]fullerene (mNPF) on the decomposition characteristics of hexogen (RDX) was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that mNPF can accelerate the decomposition of RDX, the peak temperature (Tp) of the exothermal decomposition is reduced by 6.4 K, and the corresponding apparent activation energy (Ea) is decreased by 8.7 kJ mol−1. N‐methyl‐2‐(3‐nitrophenyl)pyrrolidino[3′,4′:1,2]fullerene (mNPF), carbon black (CB), and C60 were used as combustion catalysts to improve the combustion performance of a composite modified double‐base propellant containing RDX (RDX‐CMDB). The burning rate experimental results show that mNPF has a stronger catalytic effect than C60 and CB. The magnitude of the effect of the three carbon substances on the enhancement of the burning rate is as follows: mNPF>C60>CB. The catalytic effects of different contents of mNPF on the burning rates of RDX‐CMDB propellants were also studied, and the results show that the burning rates of RDX‐CMDB propellants are improved with increasing mNPF content. The plateau burning rate of a RDX‐CMDB propellant can be increased to 19.6 mm s−1 when 1.0 % mNPF is added, and the corresponding plateau combustion region occurs at 8–22 MPa.

Synthesis and Characterization of [60]Fullerene-Glycidyl Azide Polymer and Its Thermal Decomposition

“…C60 can replace carbon black as the solid rocket fuel additive that can increase the burning rate and combustion catalytic efficiency, but both C60 and carbon black are the inert catalyst, and adding C60 or carbon black into propellant will reduce the energy of propellant [8]. Therefore, obtaining a stable energetic fullerene derivative remains a challenge.…”

“…C60 and its functionalized derivatives are important and can be remarkably applied in various studies because of their unique structure and physical properties [3][4][5]. As C60 has good features such as thermal stability, antioxidation, etching resistance, good compatibility with propellant components, and beneficial for preventing aging [6], C60 can replace carbon black as the solid rocket fuel additive that can increase the burning rate and combustion catalytic efficiency and decrease the amount of NOx in the exhaust gas [7,8]. If some energetic groups, such as the nitro group, would be added into C60, an enhanced fuel additive may be obtained [9].…”

Highly energetic compositions based on functionalized carbon nanomaterials

“…The maximum burning rate can reach up to 19.6 mm s −1 when 1.0 wt% mNPF is used, while the corresponding "plateau combustion" region is in the range from 8 to 22 MPa. 310 The unique structure of CNMs and their energetic derivatives can modify the combustion characteristics of propellants, especially when new functional groups or energetic moieties are introduced to their structures. On the one hand, such a catalytic effect could be due to the special carbon structure allowing facile electron and heat transfer, promoting chemical reactions.…”

Unravelling the Effect of Anthraquinone Metal Salts as Wide-range Plateau Catalysts to Enhance the Combustion Properties of Solid Propellants

“…The parameters relating to the various combustions, in terms of the plateau region, plateau width, plateau burning rate, and plateau pressure exponent, were calculated and are listed in Table 2. It is well-known that φ-Pb and β-Cu [22] are the most commonly used burning catalysts, but they modify the combustion performance only in the pressure range 6-12 MPa for RDX-CMDB propellants, with an average u of 10.2 mm·s −1 . The plateau regions of RDX-CMDB propellants are 4-8 MPa and 6-12 MPa when using 3-nitrophthalate lead (NP)/p-amino benzoic copper (AC) and their nano particles (nNP/nAC) as complex combustion catalysts [39].…”

“…In this context, lead(II) and copper(II) salts, including inorganic and organic compounds, have been widely investigated and are considered to be the most popular and efficient combustion catalysts for double-base (DB) and composite modified doublebase (CMDB) propellants [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Specifically, some inorganic metal oxides and organic carboxylic acid metal salts are the preferred choices in DB and CMDB propellants, and include lead oxide (PbO) [20], copper oxide (CuO) [21], lead carbonate (PbCO 3 ), phthalic acid lead salt (φ-Pb) and adipic acid copper salt (β-Cu) [22,23]. However, these catalysts are able to modify the combustion performances of solid propellants only in low pressure regimes (6)(7)(8)(9)(10), and cannot fulfil the requirements for the formulation of solid propellants with middle to high pressure range plateau combustion behaviour.…”