Nanostructured Energetic Materials

This paper reports synthesis of metastable intermolecular composite (MIC) containing CuO nanorods, nanowires combined with aluminum nanoparticles. These composites were prepared using ultrasonic mixing and self-assembly approach. The combustion wave speed as high as 2300 100 m/s was achieved for the MIC composites. We also report that the combustion wave speed can be easily tuned from 1 m/s to 2300 m/s for the nanoenergetic composites prepared using mesoporous Fe2O3 gel, nanoparticles of WO3, MoO3, Bi2O3, and CuO mixed with Al-nanoparticles and addition of other chemicals in nanoscale. Tunable combustion speed is found to depend not only on the type of oxidizer but also on the nanostructural arrangement present in the energetic composites. See also ADM002075. Presented at the Army Science Conference (25th) held in Orlando, FL on 27-30 November 2006. The original document contains color images.