Preparation and catalytic activities of LaFeO₃ and Fe₂O₃ for HMX thermal decomposition

Perovskite-type LaFeO₃ and α-Fe₂O₃ with high specific surface areas were directly prepared with appropriate stearic acid-nitrates ratios by a novel stearic acid solution combustion method. The obtained powders were characterized by XRD, FT-IR and XPS techniques. The catalytic activities of perovskite-type LaFeO₃ and α-Fe₂O₃ for the thermal decomposition of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) were investigated by TG and TG-EGA techniques. The experimental results show that the catalytic activity of perovskite-type LaFeO₃ was much higher than that of α-Fe₂O₃ because of higher concentration of surface-adsorbed oxygen (O_ad) and hydroxyl of LaFeO₃. The study points out a potential way to develop new and more active perovskite-type catalysts for the HMX thermal decomposition.