Thermal behavior of nitrocellulose-based superthermites: effects of nano-Fe2O3 with three morphologies

Superthermites or metastable intermolecular composites (MIC) are well-known for their excellent combustion characteristics in propellants. Herein, superthermites with three Fe2O3 morphologies (rodlike, polyhedral, and olivary) were synthesized. The effects of Al/Fe2O3 on the thermal decomposition property of nitrocellulose (NC) were investigated in detail via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicate that the catalytic performances of the superthermites are highly relevant to the specific surface area of their corresponding Fe2O3. Al/Fe2O3 containing rod-like Fe2O3 (Fe2O3(r)) shows a much improved performance compared with other morphological samples. The values of apparent activation energy (Ea) and thermal ignition temperature (Tbeo) of NC-Al/Fe2O3(r) were the lowest. This study could provide some directive reference data for the thermal behavior of nitrocellulose-based superthermites.