Effects of Sn-containing intermetallic compounds on the thermal decomposition and ignition properties of RDX and TKX-50

In order to develop efficient combustion catalysts for solid propellants , three intermetallic compounds of Sn-Cu, Sn-Co and Sn-Ni were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and their effects on the thermal decomposition and ignition properties of 1,3,5-trinitroperhy-dro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and 5,5′-bistetrazole-1,1′-diolate (TKX-50) were studied systemically. The results show that Sn-Cu, Sn-Co and Sn-Ni can all promote the thermal decomposition of RDX, which reduce the exothermic decomposition peak temperature of RDX by 3.2, 1.9 and 4.8 ℃, respectively. And the apparent activation energy of RDX was reduced by 82.1 kJ·mol −1 after adding the Sn-Ni intermetallic compound. In comparison with RDX, the exothermic peak temperature of TKX-50 was reduced more significantly, which was decreased by 11.9, 1.5 and 6.6 ℃ in the existence of Sn-Cu, Sn-Co and Sn-Ni, respectively. Additionally, Sn-containing intermetallic compound could reduce the ignition delay time of RDX under high power laser density, while the ignition delay time of TKX-50 could be decreased in the full power density range of the experiment. Besides, the flame combustion intensity and propagation rate of RDX and TKX-50 were significantly heightened by adding the three compounds. The comparison of pyrolysis and ignition performance before and after adding Sn-containing intermetallic compound into RDX and TKX-50 shows that Sn-containing intermetallic compound has great application prospects for improving the heat release and combustion characteristic of solid propellants.