The high efficient catalytic properties for thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate using mesoporous ZnCo2O4 rods synthesized by oxalate co-precipitation method

Mesoporous ZnCo2O4 rods have been successfully prepared via oxalate co-precipitation method without any template. The nano-sized spinel crystallites connected together to form mesoporous structure by annealing homogeneous complex oxalates precursor at a low rate of heating. It is found that the low anneal rate plays an important role for the formation of mesoporous ZnCo2O4 rods. The effects of the heat temperature on the phase, morphology and catalytic properties of the products were studied. The XRD, SEM TEM, and N-2 absorption/desorption have been done to obtain compositional and morphological information as well as BET surface area of the as-prepared sample. Catalytic activities of mesoporous ZnCo2O4 rods toward the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG) techniques. The results show that the addition of ZnCo2O4 rods to AP dramatically reduces the decomposition temperature. The ZnCo2O4 rods annealed at 250 degrees C possesses much larger specific area and exhibits excellent catalytic activity (decrease the high decomposition temperature of AP by 162.2 degrees C). The obtained mesoporous ZnCo2O4 rods are promising as excellent catalyst for the thermal decomposition of AP.