Nanocarbon from Rocket Fuel Waste: The Case of Furfuryl Alcohol-Fuming Nitric Acid Hypergolic Pair

Abstract

In hypergolics two substances ignite spontaneously upon contact without external aid. Although the concept mostly applies to rocket fuels and propellants, it is only recently that hypergolics has been recognized from our group as a radically new methodology towards carbon materials synthesis. Comparatively to other preparative methods, hypergolics allows the rapid and spontaneous formation of carbon at ambient conditions in an exothermic manner (e.g., the method releases both carbon and energy at room temperature and atmospheric pressure). In an effort to further build upon the idea of hypergolic synthesis, herein we exploit a classic liquid rocket bipropellant composed of furfuryl alcohol and fuming nitric acid to prepare carbon nanosheets by simply mixing the two reagents at ambient conditions. Furfuryl alcohol served as the carbon source while fuming nitric acid as a strong oxidizer. On ignition the temperature is raised high enough to induce carbonization in a sort of in-situ pyrolytic process. Simultaneously, the released energy was directly converted into useful work, such as heating a liquid to boiling or placing Crookes radiometer into motion. Apart from its value as a new synthesis approach in materials science, carbon from rocket fuel additionally provides a practical way in processing rocket fuel waste or disposed rocket fuels.

Hypergolic Ignition of 1,3-Cyclodienes by Fuming Nitric Acid toward the Fast and Spontaneous Formation of Carbon Nanosheets at Ambient Conditions

“…In hypergolics, a fuel and an oxidizer ignite spontaneously upon contact without external stimuli. Although the concept is widely used in space flights and the rocket industry for several decades now [5][6][7][8], it is only recently that their role in carbon materials synthesis has been explored by our group [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…More specifically, carbon nanosheets had been previously obtained from self-ignition of lithium dialkylamides in air [9], highly crystalline graphite through the spontaneous Micro 2021, 1 reaction of the acetylene-chlorine hypergolic mixture [10], carbon dots or nanosheets via hypergolic pairs based on Girard's reagent T or nitrile rubber and fuming nitric acid as strong oxidizer [11], carbon nanosheets or hydroxylated fullerenes using coffee grains or C 60 as carbon sources and sodium peroxide as strong oxidizer [12], dense or hollow spheres derived from the reaction of ferrocene with liquid bromine at room temperature [13], carbon nanodiscs obtained through the cyclopentadienyllithium-fuming nitric acid hypergolic pair [14], carbon nanosheets via the hypergolic reaction of furfuryl alcohol with fuming nitric acid at ambient conditions [15], and lastly, carbon nanosheets or carbon dots from the hypergolic ignition of conductive polymers [16]. The new synthesis method not only allows the fast and spontaneous formation of the above-mentioned nanocarbons at ambient conditions but also produces useful energy in the process, such as chemical, mechanical, thermoelectric, photovoltaic, or heating fluids.…”

Hypergolic Synthesis of Inorganic Materials by the Reaction of Metallocene Dichlorides with Fuming Nitric Acid at Ambient Conditions: The Case of Photocatalytic Titania

“…Recently, our group introduced the synthesis of hypergolic materials as a radically new preparative method in materials science [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. At the heart of this new technique are hypergolic reactions.…”

Hypergolic Synthesis of Inorganic Materials by the Reaction of Metallocene Dichlorides With Fuming Nitric Acid At Ambient Conditions: The Case of Photocatalytic Titania

“…Recently our group has introduced hypergolic materials synthesis as a radically new preparative method in materials science [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. At the heart of this new technique are hypergolic reactions.…”

“…Certain advantages of hypergolic materials synthesis are: i) simplicity and easy operation (e.g., one has to merely bring into contact two reagents at ambient conditions), ii) generality towards both carbon and inorganic materials synthesis, iii) the targeted material (carbon or inorganic) is formed rapidly (within seconds) and spontaneously at ambient conditions upon contact of the reagents, iv) the released hypergolic energy can be further converted into useful work (chemical, mechanical, photovoltaic, thermoelectric or heating fluids), and, v) since hypergolic reactions and rocket fuel propellants are closely related [10], hypergolic materials synthesis provides a practical way of converting disposed rocket fuel (also known as "mélange") into useful material (in other words, it provides an alternative rocket fuel waste management other than feedstock in chemical industry or fertilizers; see links: https://www.osce.org/secretariat/57488 and https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/8/f/35905.pdf, last accessed on 8/4/2021). As a keynote remark, hypergolic materials synthesis not only allows a fast and spontaneous formation of a wide range of nanomaterials at ambient conditions but also produces useful energy in the process.…”