TeO2 Nanoparticle Loaded Graphitic Carbon Nitride Hybrids: Their Preparation and Catalytic Activities in the Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate

Graphical The high-temperature thermal decomposition (HTD) of ammonium perchlorate (AP) is decreased by 104.4 °C if the TeO 2 nanoparticle/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) hybrids are added to AP. Furthermore, a Lewis acid–base interaction catalytic mechanism is proposed to illustrate the thermal decomposition of AP; CB = conduction band, VB = valence band, h + = hole, LTD = low-temperature thermal decomposition. TeO 2 nanoparticle-loaded graphitic carbon nitride hybrids (TeO 2 NPs/g-C 3 N 4 ) were successfully prepared by a calcination strategy. Various characterization and detection techniques were used to analyze its structure and properties. It was found that upon the addition of 10 wt.-% of the as-prepared hybrids, the onset decomposition temperature of ammonium perchlorate (AP) decreased by 104.4 °C. In addition, the addition of TeO 2 NPs resulted in an increase in the surface area up to 8.8 m 2 g –1 for g-C 3 N 4 , which is three times larger than that of the bulk g-C 3 N 4 (2.8 m 2 g –1 ). Furthermore, g-C 3 N 4 reacted with HClO 4 by Lewis acid–base interaction, which resulted in separation of HClO 4 from AP lattice. Notably, the separation of the HClO 4 gas molecule led to continued decomposition of AP, as this decomposition reaction is reversible. With this in mind, a catalytic mechanism based on Lewis acid–base interaction was proposed to illustrate the catalytic process in the thermal decomposition of AP.