The synthesis of ultra-long cobalt chains and its outstanding catalytic performance on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

A simple method without assisted of external magnetic field or surfactant soft templates was utilized to fabricate ultra-long cobalt chains. The formation mechanism was investigated by time dependent experiment, and it was considered that the link of adjacent spherical particles were through dipolar interaction. Due to the preferred orientation and shape anisotropy of the chain structure, the coercively (H_c) value was about 84.5 Oe and saturation magnetization value was up to 149 emu/g at room temperature. To develop its further practical application, the products with regard to accelerate the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate revealed that it exhibited an outstanding performance of reducing the thermal decomposition temperature. This excellent performance has great practical significance on the development of solid rocket fuels. The mechanism of the excellent performance probably ascribed to the synergistic effect of cobalt and cobalt oxide was proposed.