Abstract:

Energy components used in solid rocket propellants are beneficial for improving the energy performance, and their thermal decomposition characteristics significantly affect the combustion properties of the propellants. As a kind of energetic material with both high energy and low sensitivity (impact and friction), 5, 5'-bistetrazole-1, 1'-diolate (TKX-50) can effectively improve the energy and safety characteristics of solid propellants. Burning catalyst is another important component of solid propellants, which can significantly improve the burning rate of the propellant and reduce the pressure exponent. Among various burning catalysts, nanoscale transition metal oxides can promote the thermal decomposition of the energetic component, thus enhancing the combustion properties of the solid propellant. However, the catalytic effects of nanoscale transition metal oxides with different morphologies on the thermal decomposition of TKX-50 have rarely been studied. Based on the excellent catalytic activity of Fe₂O₃ for TKX-50 thermal decomposition, nano-Fe₂O₃ particles with spherical and tubular microstructures were used for TKX-50 thermal decomposition. The Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were successfully fabricated via the solvothermal method and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The XRD, FT-IR, and XPS results confirmed the successful fabrication of spherical and tubular Fe₂O₃ samples. The SEM and TEM images showed that the spherical Fe₂O₃ samples are composed of agglomerated Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with an average particle size of 110 nm. In addition, the average diameter and length of hollow tubular Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles are 120 nm and 200 nm, respectively. The catalytic activities of spherical and tubular Fe₂O₃ for TKX-50 decomposition were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The DSC and TG-DTG curves showed that both tubular and spherical Fe₂O₃ could effectively promote TKX-50 thermal decomposition. The first thermal decomposition peak temperature (T_FDP) of TKX-50 was reduced by 36.5 K and 26.3 K in the presence of tubular and spherical Fe₂O₃, respectively, at 10 K·min⁻¹. The activation energy (E_a) of TKX-50, determined by the iso-conversional method, was significantly reduced in the presence of both tubular and spherical Fe₂O₃. The results indicated that the microstructure of the catalyst has a significant effect on its catalytic performance for TKX-50 thermal decomposition, and that tubular Fe₂O₃ with hollow microstructure possesses better catalytic activity than spherical Fe₂O₃. The excellent catalytic activity of tubular Fe₂O₃ can be attributed to the hollow microstructure, which has more active sites for TKX-50 thermal decomposition.

Key words: Fe₂O₃, Thermal decomposition, TKX-50, morphology, Catalysis