A Novel Ammonium Perchlorate/Graphene Aerogel Nanostructured Energetic Composite: Preparation and Thermal Decomposition

A novel ammonium perchlorate (AP)/graphene aerogel (GA) nanostructured energetic composite was prepared by the sol-gel method. The structure was characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), nitrogen sorption tests and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal decomposition behavior was investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetric/infrared spectrometry (TG-DSC-FTIR). The results show that the as-prepared AP/GA nanostructured energetic composites have numerous nanoscale pores and the specific surface area is 49.18 m(2) g(-1). The XRD results show that AP homogeneously disperses in the energetic composites at nanometric scale. TG-DSC-FTIR analysis indicates that GAs exhibit high promoting effects in the thermal decomposition process of AP. After incorporating with GAs, the high-temperature decomposition of AP is accelerated and its total heat release is significantly increased which is caused by the oxidation reaction between GAs and the oxidizing products. This study provides a new choice of metastable intermolecular composites which may have great potential in use for the solid rocket propellants.