Easily coating to significantly enhance the anti-hygroscopic characteristics of AN

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is an important explosive that is widely used in military and civilian fields. However, the high hygroscopicity of AN limit its wider applications and developments. In this study, AN were coated with Co8HQ complexes via solid–solid method, giving a series of surface modified AN/Co8HQs. AN and AN/Co8HQs were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and EDS. The water contact angles of AN/Co8HQs are higher than that of AN. Hygroscopicity experiments show that the hygroscopicity of AN/Co8HQs was reduced over 40 % at all tested relative humidities in 24 h. The AN/1.5 %Co8HQ showed a 70 % hygroscopicity drop in 24 h at 97.3 % RH. Micrographs of AN/Co8HQ show that Co8HQ were uniformly coated on the surface of AN and filled the voids of AN. Generally, a straightforward and scalable method is provided to improve the anti-hygroscopic properties of AN, which has a considerable potential for practical applications. This gives AN/Co8HQ a very good anti-hygroscopic property.