Effect of Nanosize Zinc Ferrite on Thermolysis of Ammonium Perchlorate

Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is widely used as a propellant and explosive, and in pyrotechnics. It is mainly applied as a rocket propellant oxidizer due to its high oxygen content and the large amount of gas released during its decomposition. In the work described herein, nano zinc ferrite (ZnF) was synthesized by a coprecipitation method and physicochemically analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), N 2 adsorption–desorption measurements, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) and Raman spectroscopy, and thermally by thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC). The AFM results showed zinc ferrite particles with size of 58.8 nm. The thermal results showed that the presence of nano ZnF decreased the activation energy by approximately 30 kJ/mol but increased the decomposition rate. Graphical Abstract Thermolysis mechanism of ammonium perchlorate (AP) in presence of nanosize catalyst zinc ferrite (ZnF)