Hybrid Composites Based on Al/CuO Nanothermites and Tetraamminecopper Perchlorate for High-Performance Energetic Materials

Nanothermites have high energy densities and fast reactionspeeds,but their applications are restrained by their relatively low gasgeneration capacity owing to the lack of gaseous products. By contrast,nitrogen-rich explosives can release substantial small-molecule gasesupon intramolecular decomposition. Recently, the integration of nanothermiteswith nitrogen-rich explosives has attracted growing interest to attainimproved reactive performances. In this work, hybrid energetic compositescomposed of Al/CuO nanothermites and tetraamminecopper perchlorate(TACP) were prepared. The reaction behaviors of pure TACP and a seriesof Al/CuO/TACP composites were systematically investigated. Duringthe dynamic heating in thermogravimetry coupled with differentialscanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), the total heat release of Al/CuO/TACPcomposites was basically the linear combination of Al/CuO (2.23 kJ/g)and TACP (1.44 kJ/g) based on their mass contents. However, the additionof n-Al and n-CuO could lower the decomposition temperature of TACPby 20 & DEG;C, and the chlorides produced from TACP decompositionwere found to promote the oxidation of n-Al. Compared with sole Al/CuOand sole TACP, the hybrid composites with TACP content of 10-25%showed considerably strengthened blast performances and significantlyenhanced gas generation capacities. The maximum pressure and pressurizationrate of Al/CuO/TACP_25% (1.67 MPa, 199.3 MPa/s) far exceed those ofAl/CuO (1.01 MPa, 93.3 MPa/s). Owing to their superior reactivity,Al/CuO/TACP hybrid composites show promising potential as high-performanceenergetic materials for applications, including green primary explosivesand gas generators.

Automated summary

The study investigates hybrid energetic composites composed of Al/CuO nanothermites and tetraamminecopper perchlorate(TACP), and finds that they exhibit strong explosive performance and gas generation capacity, showing great potential for various applications.