Nano-Alloys: Potential Catalyst for Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate

Transition metal nanoalloys of Co-Cu, Co-Fe, and Co-Zn were prepared by hydrazine reduction of metal chloride in ethylene glycol at 60°C and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average particle size forCo-Cu, Co-Zn, and Co-Fe nanoparticles was measured to be 8.71, 27.42, and 39.31 nm, respectively, using X-ray diffraction pattern. The effect of bimetal nanoallys (BMNs) on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies. Activation energy of high-temperature decomposition (HTD) of with different alloy nanoparticles was calculated using DSC by the Kissinger equation. The activation energy was calcuated to be 69.52 kJ/mol for Co-Cu, which was lower than that of Co-Zn (124.45 kJ/mol) and Co-Fe (147.18 KJ/mol), indicating Co-Cu to be best catalyst.