New insensitive nitrogen-rich energetic polymers based on amino-functionalized cellulose and microcrystalline cellulose: Synthesis and characterization

Abstract

In this work, pristine cellulose amine nitrate (OCAN) and microcrystalline cellulose amine nitrate (MCCAN) as a new class of insensitive energetic nitrogen-rich polymers were successfully synthesized for the first time through chemical modification of pristine cellulose (OC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The synthesized energetic polymers and their precursors were deeply characterized using various analytical methods. Moreover, the energetic performances of the prepared nitrated polymers was predicted using the EXPLO5 V6.04 code. Their heats of combustion and mechanical sensitivities against impact and friction were also evaluated. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the functionalization process to synthesize OCAN and MCCAN with interesting features such as nitrogen content of 18.42% and 20.06%, density of 1.719 g/cm3 and 1.727 g/cm3, and detonation velocity of 7576 m/s and 7905 m/s, respectively, which are significantly better than those of the conventional nitrocellulose. In addition, the proposed approach allows the production of thermally stable energetic biopolymers with improved sensitivity characteristics. Thus, this investigation provides a novel and sustainable methodology to obtain a new class of insensitive energetic nitrogen-rich polymers based on cellulose, which may further promote their applications in explosives and high-performance propellants.