Sonicated metal oxide-ammonium perchlorate mixtures with modified thermal decomposition characteristics

Abstract

Thermal decomposition behavior of ammonium perchlorate (AP) containing different transition metal oxides which have been subjected to ultrasound was studied using differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that AP decomposition is sensitized significantly and the initiation temperature (Ti) was found to have been lowered by nearly 30-35°C when AP was sonicated in a ultrasound bath in presence of CuO. Though similar lowering of Ti was observed in other AP-metal oxide samples also, the sensitization was not so drastic. Activation energy calculated for the decomposition reaction based on non isothermal Coats-Redfern equation show noticeable lowering of activation energy for the catalyzed AP samples prepared under ultrasound. While the high temperature (HTD) regime remain more or less unaltered, the low temperature decomposition (LTD) regime show considerable modification in the decomposition characteristics. © 2003 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.