Energetic Al/Fe₂O₃/PVDF composites for high energy release: Importance of polymer binder and interface

Energetic composite materials are very important in military purpose and building explosion but, the role of polymer binder and the materials interfaces has been little reported. Here, we prepared energetic composites consisting of aluminum (Al), iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) and polymer, as the fuel, oxidizer and binder, respectively. Two different methods, i.e. physical mixing and compression molding were employed to form blended powder and composite film, respectively. The use of partially fluorinated polymer such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) resulted in large improvement in exothermic energy compared to that of hydrocarbon polymer such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), representing that fluorocarbon groups are actively involved in the reaction and PVDF acts as an oxidizer as well as binder. Furthermore, the Al/Fe₂O₃/PVDF film prepared by compression molding exhibited much higher exothermic energy than the blended powder, indicating the importance of intimate contact property of energetic materials for energy release.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]