Directional combustion induced by 3D aligned carbon channel arrays for combustion chamber-free micro-thruster

Abstract

Micro-solid propellant thrusters are widely used in propulsion and attitude adjustment of micro-spacecraft, and nano-satellites prospect. However, they suffer from low specific impulse owing to the existence of the conventional structural parts (combustion chamber and nozzle) that account for a large weight ratio. Herein, we report a combustion chamber-free micro-thruster consisting of balsa wood-derived carbon aerogel as well as ammonium perchlorate (AP) and Ti3C2 MXene supported on carbon aerogel. The microstructure engineering design of carbon aerogel give it 3D aligned channel arrays structure and defect rich carbon framework. The 3D aligned channel could guide the burning fluid in the channel to form directional flame, thus converting heat energy into kinetic energy with absence of the additional combustion chamber and nozzle. The defect-rich carbon aerogel with high reactivity could participate in the combustion reaction as fuel. To further promote the combustion performance of the chamber-free micro-thruster, Ti3C2 MXene is applied as reactive combustion catalyst to accelerate the thermal decomposition of AP. Coupled with the advantageous of chamber-free, high combustion efficiency, and efficient heat and mass transfer in the channel structure, the Ti/CA/AP composite can be directly applied as a micro-thruster and generates a high specific impulse of 2044.0 N·s/kg.