Catalytic activities of two different morphological Co3O4 on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

Abstract

For the purpose of exploring the catalytic performances of Co3O4 with novel architectures towards the pyrolysis of ammonium perchlorate (AP), two different morphological Co3O4 (nano-flower and micro-rod) were respectively synthesized by the chemical bath deposition route and the hydrothermal method in this work. Catalytic effects of the as-prepared Co3O4 on AP thermal decomposition were evaluated using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique. The results show that both of the two kinds of Co3O4 exhibited outstanding catalytic activities for AP thermal decomposition. The thermal decomposition peak temperature and heat release could be reduced and enhanced by 121.9 °C and 845.7 J g−1, respectively, when nano-flower shaped Co3O4 was added into AP. While for rod-like Co3O4, its introduction made the pyrolysis temperature and decomposition heat of AP decrease and increase by 116.2 °C and 776.3 J g−1, respectively. Owing to the higher specific surface area and larger pore volume, nano-flower Co3O4 shows better catalytic performance than that of rod-like counterpart for AP thermal decomposition.