Bimetallic nanoalloys: Preparation, characterization and their catalytic activity

Bimetallic nanoalloys (BMNAs) of 3d-series (Ni-Cu, Ni-Co and Ni-Zn) were prepared by hydrazine reduction of respective metal chloride in ethylene glycol at 60 degrees C. These were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and particle size was found to be in the order of 34, 43 and 30 nm, respectively. The thermolysis of ammonium perchlorate (AP) and AP-HTPB composite solid propellants was found to be catalyzed with BMNAs and burning rate was found to be enhanced considerably. TG and ignition delay studies demonstrated that higher temperature decomposition (HTD) of AP is enhanced enormously by these additives and Ni-Co nanoalloy is the best catalyst. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.