Thermoanalytical investigation of relative reactivity of some nitrate oxidants in tin-fueled pyrotechnic systems

In order to investigate relative reactivity of different oxidants in solid-state reactions of pyrotechnic mixtures, thermal properties of Sn + Sr(NO3)(2), Sn + Ba(NO3)(2), and Sn + KNO3 pyrotechnic systems have been studied by means of TG, DTA, and DSC methods and the results compared with those of pure oxidants. The apparent activation energy (E), Delta G (#), Delta H (#), and Delta S (#) of the combustion processes were obtained from the DSC experiments. The results showed that the nature of oxidant has a significant effect on ignition temperature, and the kinetic of the pyrotechnic mixtures' reactions, and the relative reactivity of these mixtures was found to obey in the following order: Sn + Sr(NO3)(2) > Sn + Ba(NO3)(2) > Sn + KNO3.