Effect of cerium trifluoride on combustion properties of nano-aluminum powder

To investigate the influence of cerium trifluoride (CeF₃) on the combustion performance of nano aluminum powder (n-Al), different mass fractions of CeF₃ were physically mixed into the n-Al powder. Research results show that CeF₃ can significantly increase the main exothermic heat of n-Al powder. When the CeF₃ content was 10 %, the heat release reached 9579.90 J·g^‒1. However, as the CeF₃ content increased, the heat release of the sample decreased. Thermal analysis results of Al/CeF₃ and Al/CeO₂ infer that this was due to the action of CeO₂ generated by pre-ignition reaction for Al/CeF₃–15. The presence of CeO₂ inhibited the reaction degree of Al, thereby reducing the heat release. Meanwhile, as the proportion of CeF₃ increased, the peak temperature of the main reaction exothermic peak was delayed, and more energy input was required for the oxidation of n-Al powder. Combustion experiments show that the addition of CeF₃ greatly shortened the combustion time of n-Al powder, with the shortest time being 4.43 s. In addition, due to the excellent storage and release oxygen capability of CeO₂, multiple micro-explosions occurred in the composite material during combustion.