Synthesis and performance of cyclopropanated pinanes with high density and high specific impulse

With the rapid development of aerospace industry, it is significantly necessary to develop advanced rocket fuels with high density, high specific impulse and good combustion performance. In this work, we report the synthesis of cyclopropanated pinanes through cyclopropanation of pinene. The reaction conditions including reaction time, solvent type, halohydrocarbon and molar ratio of zinc carbenoid to pinene were optimized. The basic physical properties of fuel, including density, kinematic viscosity, freezing point, calorific value, and combustion performance were tested, and the specific impulses of cyclopropanated pinanes were also calculated. Importantly, the cyclopropanated α- and β-pinane possess high density of 0.90 and 0.91 g/mL, specific impulse of 330.58 and 330.39 s, which results in higher volumetric specific impulse than reported rocket fuels. They also show good low-temperature performance and better ignition and combustion performance than JP-10. These excellent performances indicate that the cyclopropanated α- and β-pinane have great application prospect as high-energy rocket fuel.