A Novel Ammonium Perchlorate/Graphene Aerogel Nanostructured Energetic Composite: Preparation and Thermal Decomposition

A novel ammonium perchlorate (AP)/graphene aerogel (GA) nanostructured energetic composite was prepared by the sol-gel method. The structure was characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), nitrogen sorption tests and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal decomposition behavior was investigated by using thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetric/infrared spectrometry (TG-DSC-FTIR). The results show that the as-prepared AP/GA nanostructured energetic composites have numerous nanoscale pores and the specific surface area is 49.18 m² g^-1. The XRD results show that AP homogeneously disperses in the energetic composites at nanometric scale. TG-DSC-FTIR analysis indicates that GAs exhibit high promoting effects in the thermal decomposition process of AP. After incorporating with GAs, the hightemperature decomposition of AP is accelerated and its total heat release is significantly increased which is caused by the oxidation reaction between GAs and the oxidizing products. This study provides a new choice of metastable intermolecular composites which may have great potential in use for the solid rocket propellants.