Facile fabrication of well-dispersed CuxO nanoneedle on porous carbonized nano sponge and its promising application in the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

Abstract

To meet demands of composite solid propellants, seeking a promising material as catalyst for the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) has drawn attention. Herein, a commercially available nano sponge was used as the carbon source and a novel CuxO/carbonized nano sponge (CuxO/CNS) nanocomposite was successfully prepared via a facile precipitation method followed by a calcination process. CuxO/CNS nanocomposite was a simple sponge carbonization combined with CuxO nanoneedles grown directly on the surface of carbonized sponge substrate. Especially, CuxO nanoneedles looked like grass or leaf, dotted with carbon sponge skeleton. To further deeply evaluate the catalytic effect of CuxO/CNS nanocomposite on the thermal decomposition of AP, DSC technique was carried out. As expected, CuxO/CNS nanocomposite exhibited excellent catalytic effect on the thermal decomposition of AP. In a word, this finding provides a new insight into promising application of new catalysts in AP-based solid propellants.