Rheological studies on energetic thermoplastic elastomers

Energetic thermoplastic elastomers containing energetic groups, such as azido, nitrato, nitro, and so forth, are emerging as attractive binder systems for advanced solid rocket propellants. Poly[3,3-bis(Azidomethyl) oxetane (BAMO)-co-3-azidomethyl-3-methyl oxetane (AMMO)] comprising hard crystalline BAMO segment and the soft/amorphous AMMO segment in various molar ratios (80 : 20, 50 : 50 and 20 : 80) were synthesized during the present work. The homo polymers namely Poly-BAMO and Poly-AMMO were also synthesized. All the polymers and copolymers were characterized by spectral and thermal methods. They were found to be thermally stable. The most promising 80 : 20 copolymer softened at 56°C with Tg of -36°C. Rheological studies were also carried out to determine their suitability as a binder in explosive and propellant formulations.