Thermal behavior of ammonium perchlorate and metal powders of different grades

Abstract

The effects of aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni) powders of various grain sizes on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were investigated by TG and DSC in a dynamic nitrogen atmosphere. The TG results show that Al powders have no effect on the thermal decomposition of AP at conventional grain size, while the nanometer-sized Ni powders (n-Ni) have a great influence on the thermal decomposition of AP with conventional and superfine grain size. The results obtained by DSC and an in situ FTIR analysis of the solid residues confirmed the promoting effects of n-Ni. The effects of n-Ni have been ascribed to its enhancement on the gas phase reactions during the second step decomposition of conventional grain size AP.