Preparation and Application of La2O3 and CuO Nano Particles as Catalysts for Ammonium Perchlorate Thermal Decomposition

Abstract

AbstractNanoparticles (NPs) from lanthanum oxide (La2O3) and copper oxide (CuO) with spherical morphology were synthesized through precursor calcinations of copper and lanthanum carbonate and then using a bioactive shell membrane of eggshell. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to evaluate particle size, chemical structure, purity and morphology of the synthesized La2O3 and CuO NPs. The XRD outcomes established the creation of the targeted compounds, SEM images obviously displayed morphology of the synthesized La2O3 and CuO as spherical NPs with average particle sizes of roughly 35 and 30 nm, correspondingly. The catalytic effects of these NPs on the thermal decomposition behavior of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were tested using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in coupling with thermo‐gravimetric analysis (TG). The results of these experiments showed that the addition of 5 % La2O3 nanoparticles has an attractive catalytic effect on the thermal decomposition of the AP. Moreover, AP thermal decomposition was facilitated by the addition of 5 % CuO NPs. A more accurate comparison was made between the catalytic effects of synthesized NPs via computing their thermal decomposition activation energies (E), ΔS#, ΔH# and ΔG# using diverse non‐isothermal approaches.