Probing the effect of activated carbon-based metal oxides on the thermocatalytic decomposition of energetic NC-DEGDN formulation

Abstract

This study investigate the catalytic behavior of activated carbon-supported metal oxides on the thermal decomposition of a double-base propellant comprising nitrocellulose (NC) and diethylene glycol dinitrate (DEGDN). Three metal oxides (M_xO_y: CoO, CuO, Fe₂O₃), successfully grafted onto activated carbon (AC), are thoroughly characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These latter were introduced into energetic NC-DEGDN formulation to assess their catalytic activity. The thermal characterization using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provided valuable insights into the thermal properties and reactivity of the NC/DEGDN/AC-M_xO_y composites. Experimental results revealed that while the different AC-M_xO_y additives had a minimal effect on the peak decomposition temperature of NC/DEGDN, they resulted in a significant increase in both the reaction enthalpy and the density of the composites. Isoconversional kinetic studies showed that the incorporation of AC-M_xO_y reduced the apparent activation energy of the NC/DEGDN composite by up to 35%, with ACCoO showing the highest catalytic efficiency. These findings highlight the potential of AC-M_xO_y additives to enhance the performance of the double-base solid propellants and provide a basis for future research in this area.