Evaluation of Ferrocene Derivatives as Burn Rate Modifiers in AP/HTPB-Based Composite Propellants

Some ferrocene derivatives like 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine derivative of acetyl ferrocene, I-pyrrolidinylmethyl ferrocene, di-ter-butyl ferrocene and 1,3-diferrocenyl-1-butene (DFB) have been synthesised and characterised by infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet, iron content, etc. To study the effect of their incorporation on performance, ammonium perchlorate/hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene-based composite propellants containing these derivatives have been prepared and studied for bum rates, tensile strength &d percentage elongation followed by their static test evaluation. A comparison of the properties of propellant containing solid and liquid ferrocene derivatives has been made with those containing Fe203 and n-butyl ferrocene, respectively. The data clearly indicates that these ferrocene derivatives are better than Fez O3 and n-butyl ferrocene. Also, DFB is the best among these derivatives. Like composite propellants, DFB increases bum rate in fuel-rich propellants also. 1.