High-energy Al/graphene oxide/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite fabricated by self-assembly: Evaluation of heat release, ignition behavior, and catalytic performance

As part of our ongoing search for high-performance nanoenergetic materials, we herein used self-assembly guided by negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) to fabricate a high-energy Al/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite with a dense layered structure featuring evenly mixed Al and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles uniformly loaded on the GO surface. Investigation of the effects of the equivalence ratio (0 = 1.00-1.75) showed that the heat release achieved at the optimal value of 0 = 1.50 (3175 +/- 65 J center dot g-1) exceeded that of most known thermites, while the fierce ignition process of this composite was characterized by an ignition delay time of (0.025 +/- 0.002) s, a flame propagation speed of (14.3 +/- 3.8) m center dot s-1, and a continuous reaction duration of (33 +/- 0.58) ms. In addition, the nanocomposite with 0 = 1.00 effectively catalyzed the thermal decomposition of 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and ammonium perchlorate (AP), decreasing their decomposition temperatures by 7.4 and 64.8 degrees C, respectively, reducing their apparent activation energies of decomposition by 118.7 and 18 kJ center dot mol-1, respectively. And the constant-volume combustion enthalpies of RDX and AP increase with the addition of Al/GO/CuFe2O4. The reason of this enhanced performance was probed by analyzing the nanocomposite assembly process, and a plausible assembly mechanism was proposed.

Automated summary

In this study, a high-energy Al/GO/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite was successfully fabricated through self-assembly guided by negatively charged graphene oxide. The optimized equivalence ratio resulted in superior heat release and ignition characteristics compared to known thermites. Additionally, the nanocomposite effectively catalyzed the thermal decomposition of RDX and AP, reducing their decomposition temperatures and activation energies.