Effect of sulfuric residual acid on the physicochemical properties, thermal behavior, and decomposition kinetics of nitrocellulose

•The physicochemical properties of NC treated with sulfuric acid were investigated•The thermal behavior of NC containing sulfuric acid was evaluated•The thermal decomposition mechanism of NC containing sulfuric acid was researched The acid remaining in the nitrocellulose (NC) during the production process have some influence on its structure and stability. Herein, physicochemical properties, thermal behavior, and decomposition kinetics of NC before and after sulfuric acid treatment were thoroughly investigated using a series of analytical instruments in this paper. It is found that the nitrogen content and relative molecular weight of NC-0.968% that undergoing impregnation with sulfuric acid and drying is decreased by 0.58% and 16% (decreasing rate), respectively, suggesting that the presence of excess sulfuric acid leads to denitrification of NC at room temperature as well as breakage of the glucoside bond, with a greater effect on the latter. Moreover, the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) indicate that the presence of sulfuric acid did not cause significant changes in the crystalline structure of NC, but severely damage the microscopic morphology, resulting in a large number of micropores appearing on its fiber surface, which enhances the hygroscopicity of NC. In addition, the combined Model-based kinetic results indicate that the decomposition reaction process of NC- 0.968% has a step one more than that of pure NC, which is attributed to the acid-catalyzed denitrification of NC and the breaking of glucoside bonds. Combined with the experimental results of TG-DSC-FITR, it shows that the presence of acid mainly affects the initial decomposition process of NC, while the fracture of the glucose ring frame and oxygen bridge in the NC molecular structure is more dependent on the action of NO2 and the decomposition temperature.