Synthesis of HHTPB by partial hydrogenation of HTPB using copper chromite as a catalyst

Abstract

HTPB (hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene) is a well‐established binder in the composite solid propellant owing to its excellent compatibility with ammonium perchlorate (AP) and aluminium (Al) particles in giving rise to optimal ballistic and mechanical properties. Efforts are being made to improve the ballistic properties further, such as specific impulse. One way of increasing the specific impulse is to hydrogenate HTPB, which decreases the molecular mass of the combustion product gases. This paper is a summary of efforts in synthesizing hydrogenated HTPB (HHTPB) using copper chromite (CC) as a catalyst. A novel synthesis methodology is developed for HHTPB using a temperature‐programmed batch reactor with a variable speed stirrer and an instrumentation system to maintain the desired liquid reactant temperature. A process cycle is developed that includes addition sequence and reaction time. The product is analyzed using 1H‐NMR and FTIR to estimate the degree of hydrogenation and the geometrical isomers respectively. The estimated apparent equilibrium rate constants from the degree of hydrogenation values are respectively 74 and 2034 L/(mol MPa) for non‐catalyzed and catalyzed systems, indicating the effectiveness of the catalyst. This is also substantiated by the reduction in Gibbs free energy (ΔG), to an extent of 4.48 kJ/mol. Thermogravimetry examination indicates that the decomposition temperature of HHTPB produced by the catalytic method is marginally higher compared to HTPB. DSC curves indicate that the decomposition enthalpy of HHTPB is higher than that of HTPB. In summary, this paper proposed and validated a novel method in the preparation of HHTPB using copper chromite.