Abstract
The potential of phosphorus(V) nitride, P3 N5 , as a replacement for red phosphorus, PR , in pyrotechnic obscurants has been theoretically and experimentally investigated. P3 N5 can be safely mixed with KNO3 and even KClO3 and KClO4 . The corresponding formulations are surprisingly insensitive to friction and only mildly impact-sensitive. P3 N5 /KNO3 pyrolants with ξ=20-80 wt % P3 N5 burn 200 times faster than the corresponding mixtures based on PR and generate a dense smoke. Hence obscurants based on P3 N5 /KNO3 have a figure of merit that by far exceeds that of current state-of-the-art PR -based obscurants. Furthermore, unlike PR , which slowly degrades in moist air to phosphoric acids and phosphine (PH3 ), P3 N5 is stable under these conditions and does not produce any acids or PH3 . P3 N5 is hence a safe, stable, and powerful replacement for PR for use in insensitive munitions.
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