A new energetic [Co(BTM) ₂ ](NH ₄ ) ₂ complex: synthesis, characterization and investigation of its catalytic activity

The aim of this research was to synthesize a new nitrogen-rich and insensitive catalyst for the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP). To this end, a new cobalt complex, [Co(BTM)2](NH4)2 (CoC), was synthesized using 5,5′-methylenebis(1H-tetrazole) (H2BTM) ligand and characterized by elemental analysis, ICP–AES, PXRD, and FT-IR spectroscopy. To evaluate its catalytic activity on the thermal decomposition of AP, a mixture containing 25 wt.% of the CoC with AP was analyzed via thermal analysis techniques, and nonisothermal kinetic parameters were determined via the Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall methods. This study revealed that the activation energy of AP decreased from 194 to 138 kJ mol−1 by this catalyst. Also, the logarithm of the frequency factor (log(A/s−1)) decreased from 14.12 to 9.88, and reveals a four-stage mechanism for the AP thermal decomposition phenomenon. Furthermore, it increases the heat of decomposition of AP from 1100 to 2100 Jg−1 and reduces the maximum decomposition temperature from 432 to 343 °C.