Preparation of quaternary energetic composites by crystallization and their thermal decomposition characteristics

Three spherical quaternary composites composed of metal/metal oxide/high explosive/oxidizer were prepared by a crystallization/agglomeration process. From the characteristics of composites by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the shortening of the decomposition zone of high explosives in the quaternary composite was observed, which may be attributed to the autocatalytic reaction caused by ClO₂ or HCl which are ammonium perchlorate (AP) degradation products. The activation energy analysis showed that the activation energy abruptly decreases at the end of the decomposition zone of high explosives, and it was considered to be caused by HNO₂ which is common in decomposition products of high explosives. The activation energy predicted from complex pyrolysis results by the distributed activation energy model (DAEM) showed much better in accuracy than those by model-fitting methods such as Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa models.