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

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 (MxOy: 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-MxOy composites. Experimental results revealed that while the different AC-MxOy 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-MxOy reduced the apparent activation energy of the NC/DEGDN composite by up to 35%, with ACCoO showing the highest catalytic efficiency. These findings highlight the potential of AC-MxOy additives to enhance the performance of the double-base solid propellants and provide a basis for future research in this area.