Preparation of rGO, Fe2O3, and Fe2O3/rGO for the catalytic thermal decomposition of microspherical TKX-50

Dihydroxylammonium 5,5 '-bistetrazole-1,1 '-diolate (TKX-50), a promising energetic materials (EMs), has attracted intensive attention in recent years. In this work, reduced graphene oxide (rGO), Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs), and Fe2O3/rGO composites were successfully synthesized through a hydrothermal method investigated using SEM, XRD, Raman, XPS, and FT-IR. Microspherical TKX-50 was also fabricated by using spray drying technology. The catalytic activity of rGO, Fe2O3 NPs, and Fe2O3/rGO composites for thermal decomposition of raw TKX-50 and microspherical TKX-50 was studied by using TG-DSC techniques. This analysis showed that the first exothermic decomposition peak (T-p1) of microspherical TKX-50 was reduced by 6.7 degrees C compared to raw TKX-50 due to a change in shape and particle size. In addition, the T-p1 of microspherical TKX-50 was decreased by 42.8 degrees C compared to raw TKX-50 in the presence of Fe2O3 NPs. Besides, the TG-DSC-FTIR results indicated that CO2, HCN, and CO appeared at the first and second decomposition processes, and the N2O only appeared at the second decomposition stage. It was also found that the Fe2O3 NPs can prevent the generation of CO2, NO, and CO during the decomposition process of TKX-50. We believe that the findings of this work could provide new insights into the decomposition mechanism of TKX-50 and could also help to determine the burning rate issue of TKX-50.

Automated summary

This study successfully synthesized microspherical and nanocomposite materials of dihydroxylammonium 5,5'-bistetrazole-1,1'-diolate (TKX-50) and analyzed their catalytic activity in thermal decomposition. The results showed that the composites could lower the decomposition temperature of TKX-50 and inhibit the generation of harmful gases.