Effect of Fe₂O₃ in Fe₂O₃/AP Composite Particles on Thermal Decomposition of AP and on Burning Rate of the Composite Propellant

Abstract

A technique of composite processing of Fe2O3 and ammonium perchlorate (AP) was employed in making the propellant. The effects of composite processing of Fe2O3 on catalytic activity, on the thermal decomposition of AP, and on the burning rate of the composite propellant were investigated in this paper. Fe2O3/AP composite particles were prepared by a novel solvent‐nonsolvent method. The results show that AP is successfully coated on the surface of Fe2O3. Composite processing of Fe2O3 and AP can improve the catalytic activity of Fe2O3. Fe2O3 exhibits better catalytic effect with increasing Fe2O3 content. The larger interface between Fe2O3 and AP and lower density of composite propellant (with the added Fe2O3/AP composite particles) are responsible for the enhancement of the catalytic activity of Fe2O3.

Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles - a Short Review

“…This way, they permit burning rate tailoring to fit a specific grain design. Since the combustion mechanism of propellants is very much dependent upon the decomposition of ammonium perchlorate, there are many studies concerning the catalytic effect of nanosized ferric oxide on thermal decomposition of the oxidizer (Ma et al 2006;Joshi et al 2008;Fujimura and Miyake 2010).…”

“…According to some researchers (Ma et al 2006), the high catalytic effect of iron oxide in the thermal decomposition reactions of NH 4 ClO 4 is due to the mechanism of proton transfer. As stated in this mechanism, the formation of perchlorid acid (HClO 4 ) plays a key role in catalytic reactions.…”

“…The volatile products from thermal decomposition of HClO 4 catalyze the combustion of propellant and in consequence iron oxide catalyzes the decomposition of AP. Based on proton transfer theory, the key features for good catalytic performance of iron oxide are: (i) particles of catalyst have high reactivity with AP particles during propellant combustion process; (ii) high specific surface area of iron oxide particles which is coated by the AP and so leads to improved dispersibility and increased interfacial surface area in the mixture (Fe 2 O 3 /AP) (Ma et al 2006).…”

In situ synthesis of plate-like Fe2O3 nanoparticles in porous cellulose films with obvious magnetic anisotropy

“…5 TEM images of the F301 and F303 composite films: a, c were the slice that parallel to the F301 and F303 composite films plane; b, d were the slice perpendicular to the F301 and F303 composite films plane, respectively 298°C, it was 28°C lower than that of the cellulose films. The decreased decomposition temperature could be ascribed to the catalytic property of the Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles (Ma et al 2006;Shekhah et al 2003). The content of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles in the composite films increased from 5.89 to 27.02 wt% with the increase of the concentration of FeCl 2 solution from 0.1 to 1.0 M, as it was shown in Fig.…”

Construction of inorganic nanoparticles by micro-nano-porous structure of cellulose matrix

“…The RC films were decomposed at 353°C, whereas the onset of the decomposition temperature of the CD-03 films was lower by about 60°at about 291°C. This could be explained by the catalytic properties of the incorporated inorganic nanoparticles (Ma et al 2006). The content of the CdS nanoparticles in the cellulose films increased from 0.56 to 21.42 wt% with an increase of the CdCl 2 solution concentration from 0.01 to 0.3 M ( Figure S2).…”