Catalytic decomposition and crack resistance of composite energetic material synthesized by recrystallizing with graphene oxide

Catalysis and crack resistance are essential for the combustion and structure performances of composite energetic materials. Currently, catalysis is dominated by toxic metals, and chemical coupling agents are always needful for fabricating the robust interface to resist cracks, without a feasible green alternative method. In this work, a recrystallization method was developed in pure water, by which graphene oxide (GO) was perfectly coated on NaNO 3 particles without any coupling agent. The particle size of NaNO 3 /GO is much smaller than that of pure NaNO 3 , due to the inhibition of GO to the growth of NaNO 3 crystals. The ultrathin GO coating on the NaNO 3 presents effective catalytic activity on the thermal decomposition of NaNO 3 and crack resistance capability in the NaNO 3 /GO/polyurethane composites. This green and effective approach may open up the opportunities to develop various high-performance composite energetic materials with great potential.