Conveniently controllable design of nano-Al-doped@Co3O4 energetic composite with enhanced exothermic property via exploring electrophoretic assembly dynamics

Achieving controllable film-forming process is always a difficult issue for practical application, especially for bi-/multiple component composite materials. Thus, this paper firstly developed a conveniently and controllable electrophoretic assembly technique under mild conditions to design nano-Al-doped@Co 3 O 4 energetic film with wide potential applications. The stable suspension consists of isopropyl alcohol with the tracing of polyethylenimine and tween 80. The high crystallinity and uniformity of structure in target films were demonstrated by FESEM, EDX, XRD, and FT-IR techniques. Electrophoretic assembly dynamics of Al/Co 3 O 4 particles were deeply explored to provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing exothermic performance. The exothermic performance of target film can be accurately adjusted, and the output of heat ( Q ) and activation energy ( E a ) can reach up to ~ 3.6 kJ/g (close to 85% of theoretical value) and low to 230.01 kJ/mol, respectively. This breakthrough will substantially push forward the facile functional film-forming process of different kinds of particles used in fields of electronics, military, aviation, etc.