Flash-ignition of carbon black synthesized from acetylene diffusion flames and its application as ignition agents

Abstract

The study proposes a new ignition agent composed of a mixture of carbon black and ferrocene, which can be triggered using a flash lamp. This low-cost alternative to costly materials like carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, or energetic metal nanoparticles, involves adding a tiny amount of ferrocene to carbon black to ignite gaseous fuels and other energetic materials. The carbon black generated by the laminar diffusion flame of acetylene can be ignited using the commercial camera flash. Scanning electron microscope and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that the carbon black used in the study has no distinct single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, or graphene structures. The flash-ignition test showed that the carbon black could be ignited with an ordinary camera flash lamp, with the oxidation reaction becoming more vital as the camera-flash energy output increases. Additionally, the flash-ignition reaction becomes more intense with finer carbon black particles, even with the camera flash lamp's energy output remaining the same. Furthermore, adding ferrocene to carbon black enhances the effect of flash ignition. The study evaluated the carbon black/ferrocene mixture using thermogravimetric analysis and spectrophotometer to determine its purity, ignition temperature, and photo-physical properties. It also measured the burning of the mixture with the Two-color Pyrometry, finding that the burning temperature of the proposed ignition agents was high enough to ignite the gaseous fuels and the energetic materials. Finally, the mechanism of ferrocene in promoting the flash ignition of carbon black is proposed.