Pyrolysis mechanisms of commonly used oxidizers on the 5‐amino‐1H‐tetrazole

Abstract

As a novel energetic material, 5-Amino-1H-tetrazole (5AT) has a history of proposed applications in the fields of airbags, rocket engines, and new propellants. However, the application of 5AT is limited for its poor combustion stability. Identification of the thermal behaviour and pyrolysis mechanism of 5AT could provide guidance on the control of combustion behaviour, which can be effectively improved by adding oxidizers. In this paper, five kinds of oxidizers (Ammonium perchlorate (AP), Sodium perchlorate (NaClO 4 ), Ammonium nitrate (AN), Manganese oxide (MnO 2 ), and Chromic oxide (Cr 2 O 3 )) are mixed with 5AT for investigating the catalytic effects of multi-type oxidizers on 5AT. Thermal behaviour is analysed by the TG-DSC test and the thermal activation energy is evaluated by Kissinger and Ozawa methods. Moreover, TG-FTIR and TG-MS analyses are used to infer the pyrolysis gas products of 5AT/oxidant. The experimental results indicate that the 5AT-AN has the lowest activation energy, and the degradation process was simplified into one step. The addition of AP, NaClO 4 , and MnO 2 can promote the pyrolysis process of 5AT due to the redox reaction between melamine and the decomposition products of oxidizers, while the catalytic effect of Cr 2 O 3 mainly occurs above 400 °C without the occurrence of oxidation. The catalytic mechanism of Cr 2 O 3 mainly performs on the polyaddition and the ring-opening reaction of N-containing heterocycles. The findings of this work may offer valuable direction for understanding, designing, and using 5AT-based propellants.

Elucidating the Mechanisms of Reactions in Energetic Materials: A Critical Methodology Review

“…In article [25], the authors attempted to determine and compare the catalytic effects of selected oxidants (NH 4 ClO 4 (AP), NaClO 4 and NH 4 NO 3 ) and selected metal oxides (MnO 2 and Cr 2 O 3 ) on the pyrolysis of 5AT. TGA/DSC was used to investigate the thermal decomposition of the samples.…”

The Effect of CuO on the Thermal Behavior and Combustion Features of Pyrotechnic Compositions with AN/MgAl

“…In recent years, Mg-Al alloys have been widely used in production due to their properties [15][16][17][18][19]. There is a large number of experimental works on the effect of magnesium additives on ignition characteristics and aluminum combustion [12,13,[20][21][22].…”