Combustion behaviour of nitrocellulose and its complexes with copper oxide. Hot stage microscopic studies

Complexes of nitrocellulose (NC - low and high nitrogen content) with copper oxide (CuO) have been synthesized and studied for morphological behaviour on heating from room temperature to 500 degreesC with the help of hot stage microscopy (HSM). During decomposition, NC:CuO complexes show contraction of fibrous boundaries followed by mass movement of matrix, with the evolution of brown yellow colour gas at higher temperatures as compared to NC alone.