Self-assembled Ordered Energetic Composites of CuO Nanorods and Nanowells and Al Nanoparticles with High Burn Rates

Abstract

Current approaches of mixing fuel and oxidizer nanoparticles or adding fuel nanoparticles to oxidizer gel lead to an overall reduced interfacial area of contact between them and thus, limit their burn rates severely. We have developed an approach of self-assembling fuel nanoparticles around an oxidizer matrix using a monofunctional polymer, poly(4)-vinyl pyridine (P4VP). The polymer has been used to accomplish binding of fuel and oxidizer in a molecularly engineered manner. We use composite of Al-nanoparticles and CuO nanorods for executing this self-assembly. TEM images of this composite confirms the self-assembly of Al-nanoparticles around the oxidizer nanorods. The burn rate of self-assembled composite has been found significantly higher than that of the composite prepared by simple mixing.

Metal-based reactive nanomaterials

“…Recently, self-assembly approaches were considered to prepare reactive nanocomposite materials starting with nanosized aluminum powder and functionalized nanosized oxide particles [106][107][108][109]. To produce ordered assemblies, metal particles were arranged around the exterior surface area of oxide nanorods or in the ordered pore structure of the mesoporous oxidizer particles in composites.…”

“…The nanorods were prepared for these experiments using the surfactant-templating method. Al nanoparticles adhere to functionalized nanorods and these ''decorated'' nanorods become ordered within the material [107,108]. Such ordered structures are reported to produce higher flame speeds in small-scale laboratory evaluation tests compared to nanocomposite materials with the same compositions conventionally mixed using ultrasonicated suspension.…”

Metal Iodate-Based Energetic Composites and Their Combustion and Biocidal Performance

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] The thermochemical properties of the materials used results in energy densities, for the most common mixtures, that are a factor of two or more higher on a volumetric basis than conventional organic based energetic (e.g., TNT or RDX). [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The potential threats from biological-based weapons, such as those employing Bacillus anthracis, pose a significant challenge to global security. Of particular concern are spores of virulent bacteria that are highly stress resistant and cannot be completely killed by high-pressure processing (HPP), heat, or toxic chemicals such as iodophor.…”

Assembly and reactive properties of Al/CuO based nanothermite microparticles

“…Polymers and ligands have also been employed as linkers to assemble fuel and oxidizer nanoparticles. Subramanium et al reported self-assembled fuel nanoparticles around an oxidizer matrix using poly(4)-vinyl pyridine (P4VP) [29,30]. Malchi et al employed charged ligands (COOHðCH 2 Þ 10 NMe þ 3 Cl À , SHðCH 2 Þ 10 COO À NMe þ 4 , etc.)…”