Thermal Investigation and Kinetic Evaluation of CuO Coated Carbon Nanofibers in Hybrid Nanocomposite Energetic Composition

Abstract

Nanomaterial additives have been broadly used in different applications to enhance the energy output of energetic materials. Herein, the carbon nanosized fibrous surfaces (CNF) were subjected to a pretreatment process followed by catalysis to ensure the successful deposition of a thin layer of nano-copper. The obtained Cu-coated layer was then galvanized at 250°C then sonicated with aluminum nanoparticles (120 nm average particle size), producing CuO-coated CNF nanosized thermit colloids in isopropanol. These colloids could act as a recommended oxidizer agent for Al nanoparticles. Finally, the obtained nanosized thermit colloids were combined with trinitrohexahydrotriazine (RDX) crystals. The impact of this combination on the RDX decomposition behavior was investigated utilizing the modified Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) method. Interestingly, the average activation value was decreased by 40.5%, which could be attributed to the high reactivity of the developed thermite colloids together with a combination that occurred with RDX nitramine particles.