Decomposition and Stability Studies of TAGN (Triaminoguanidium Nitrate)

The thermal decomposition of TAGN is of interest for understanding its stability and compatibility with other nitramine propellant ingredients. Low vulnerability (LOVA) propellants containing inert polymers such as hydroxy- terminated polybutadiene or the cellulose acetate polymers and the nitramines HMX or RDX have been formulated at ICT. We are interested in determining the effect of TAGN on the stability of these propellants by studying their thermal decomposition at temperatures below the deflagration temperature. In this paper the preliminary results for this study are presented. Techniques used include thermal decomposition/MS, in which the evolved gases are analyzed by mass spectroscopy. The solid residue was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental (carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen) analysis, thin layer chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry and atomic absorption spectroscopy. TAGN (Triaminoquanidinium Nitrate), DAGN (Diaminoquanidinium Nitrate), Thermal analysis, Mass Spectroscopy, RDX (Trinitrotriazacyclohexane), Decomposition chemistry.