Facile energetic fluoride chemistry induced organically coated aluminum powder with effectively improved ignition and combustion performances

Energetic fluoride chemistry possesses great promise as the energetic fluoride coating has the potential to enhance energy release of aluminum. In this study, glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) and pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were one-pot esterified to form energetic fluoride: glycidyl azide polymer pentadecafluorooctanoic ester (GAPFE), which formed homogeneous coating on the surface of micron-sized Al to form Al@GAPFE. The exothermic enthalpy of Al@GAPFE in the DSC test was 2.5 times higher than that of raw Al. Al@GAPFE not only effectively lowering ignition temperature, but also enhanced the combustion heat by 6.2%. The promotive effect of GAPFE on ignition and combustion was outstanding among the reported aluminum fuels. Our work provided an effective synthetic strategy for one-pot energetic fluoride chemistry, which addressed potential use in propellants, explosives, protective coating, multifunctional interface, etc. Besides, the corresponding combustion and exothermic mechanisms were also discussed in details, which could help the future design of high-performance energetic materials.