TY - JOUR
T1 - Nitrate ester functionalized ionic liquid as energetic plasticizer for HTPB propellant
AU - Su, Ze
AU - Li, Xiaolong
AU - Wang, Youye
AU - Liu, Long
AU - Zhang, Yanqiang
AU - Zhang, Jianguo
AU - Li, Zhimin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 China Ordnance Society. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - Energetic plasticizers are rarely used in HTPB propellants due to compatibility issues; one strategy is usually adopted is to introduce energetic substituents. In this study, the synthesized high-energy ionic liquids were comprehensively characterized, and showed that they possess extremely low melting points (IL-3h, Tm = −70 °C), good thermal stability (ILs, Tp > 370 °C), and high densities (IL-3a, ρ = 1.637 g/cm3). The high-energy performance exhibited by high detonation velocity (Dv) and pressure (DP) of ionic liquids (Dv: 6600–6800 m/s; Dp: 17–19 MPa) contributes to improved specific impulse in propellant formulations, which significantly surpasses that of conventional triethylene glycol dinitrate (TEGDN). Furthermore, HTPB elastomer cured with TDI were plasticized with ionic liquids, and the results of tensile and dynamic mechanical tests were showed that the HTPB elastomer plasticized with ionic liquids had a maximum tensile strength of 0.883 MPa and a maximum elongation at break of 539.2%, which were comparable to DOA (σt = 0.587 MPa, εt = 479.1%). This work provides an innovative approach for the design of energetic ionic liquid plasticizers in HTPB propellants.
AB - Energetic plasticizers are rarely used in HTPB propellants due to compatibility issues; one strategy is usually adopted is to introduce energetic substituents. In this study, the synthesized high-energy ionic liquids were comprehensively characterized, and showed that they possess extremely low melting points (IL-3h, Tm = −70 °C), good thermal stability (ILs, Tp > 370 °C), and high densities (IL-3a, ρ = 1.637 g/cm3). The high-energy performance exhibited by high detonation velocity (Dv) and pressure (DP) of ionic liquids (Dv: 6600–6800 m/s; Dp: 17–19 MPa) contributes to improved specific impulse in propellant formulations, which significantly surpasses that of conventional triethylene glycol dinitrate (TEGDN). Furthermore, HTPB elastomer cured with TDI were plasticized with ionic liquids, and the results of tensile and dynamic mechanical tests were showed that the HTPB elastomer plasticized with ionic liquids had a maximum tensile strength of 0.883 MPa and a maximum elongation at break of 539.2%, which were comparable to DOA (σt = 0.587 MPa, εt = 479.1%). This work provides an innovative approach for the design of energetic ionic liquid plasticizers in HTPB propellants.
KW - Energetic plasticizer
KW - Ionic liquids
KW - Nitrate
KW - Plasticizing performance
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105034847956
U2 - 10.1016/j.dt.2026.02.013
DO - 10.1016/j.dt.2026.02.013
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105034847956
SN - 2096-3459
JO - Defence Technology
JF - Defence Technology
ER -