Glycerol-controlled synthesis of a series of cobalt acid composites and their catalytic decomposition toward several energetic materials

One of the challenges in solid propellant formulation is the ability to extend the combustion performance by efficiently catalyzing the decomposition of energetic additives. Herein, a series of cobalt acid composites nano-MCo2O4 (M = Cu, Ni, Zn, Mg, Fe, Ba) with homogeneous morphology and small particle size were systematically prepared by a solvothermal method. The crystal structure, surface morphology and catalytic performance of MCo2O4 were adjusted by the special co-solvent isopropanol and glycerol, exhibiting a regular and uniform spherical structure with an average diameter of 900 nm. The surface of MCo2O4 before calcination is wrapped with a layer of a fold-like substance, which is related to the addition of glycerol. XRD results show that BaCo2O4 was firstly prepared by this method in this study. Finally, the catalytic decomposition performance of MCo2O4 composites toward ammonium perchlorate (AP) and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) was investigated and compared via the DSC method. BaCo2O4 and CuCo2O4 exhibit the best catalytic activity toward AP and RDX, respectively, which is mainly due to their higher crystallinity and the better catalytic activity of copper ions. The simple and high-yield pathway for obtaining nano-MCo2O4 in this work provides a new insight to design and develop a kind of high-performance combustion catalyst for solid propellants.

Automated summary

In this study, a series of homogeneous and small particle size cobalt acid composites nano-MCo2O4 were successfully prepared by solvothermal method, with their crystal structure and catalytic performance adjusted by special co-solvents. BaCo2O4 and CuCo2O4 exhibited the best catalytic activity towards ammonium perchlorate and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, respectively, due to their higher crystallinity and better catalytic activity of copper ions.