High energy chelating coating improves the combustion performance and propellant compatibility of AL-5Li alloy powder

Hongdi Fu, Shuo Wang*, Xuanyan Liu, Yonghao Zhao, Haiyang Wang, Siyuan Tang, Huaqiang Zhu, Wenya Yan, Kangcheng Xu, Lixiang Zhu, Ziqi He, Tinglu Song, Youqi Zhu, Xiaodong Li, Meishuai Zou

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Aluminum-lithium alloy powder fuel is commonly used as a propellant because of its high combustion energy and energy-release level. However, the high reactivity of Li leads to poor compatibility of the Al-Li alloy powder with other propellant composites. In this study, a chelate of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC) and aluminum ions, with high viscosity and a large number of hydroxyl groups, was prepared and coated onto the surface of an Al-Li alloy powder. The high-energy compound azide glycidyl ether (GAP) was further introduced onto the surface via a synergistic interaction with the Al3+-CMC chelate, forming layer-by-layer coated aluminum–lithium-based fuel Al-5Li@CMC@GAP. The combustion heat, ignition properties, and thermal stability of the fuel were enhanced after the coating. The combustion heat of Al-5Li@CMC@GAP increased by 9.98 % compared to that of the raw Al-5Li powder. In addition, Al-5Li@CMC@GAP burned with bright flames with a shorter combustion duration. The dense coating layer of Al-5Li@CMC@GAP was maintained even after aging for 3 months in the propellant. Therefore, Al-5Li@CMC@GAP can be used as an alloy fuel in composite solid propellants with good compatibility and storage durability and will play an important role in aviation and defense fields.

Original languageEnglish
Article number135181
JournalFuel
Volume395
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2025

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