Studies on impact sensitivity of nanosized trinitrotoluene （TNT） confined in silica processed by sol-gel method

Nano-sized trinitrotoluene （TNT） material restrained in silica gel has been prepared by using the sol-gel process to study the effect of varying porosity in gel on the sensitivity of TNT. The TNT content in the gel has been varied from 60 to 90 wt % （at fixed acetone/tetramethoxysilane ratio of 50）. Also, for a fixed TNT content of 75 wt %, the pore structure in the gel has been varied by changing the ratio of silica gel precursor to the solvent. The resultant TNT-silica gel composites have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, small angle X-ray scattering and surface area analysis teclmiques, hnpact sensitivity studies were carried out using Fall Hammer Impact Test. The results showed that the sensitivity of nanostructured explosives prepared by sol-gel process can be tailored precisely by controlling the process parameters.