Synthesis and Characterization of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles and Investigation of their Catalytic Effect on Thermal Decomposition of Composite Propellants

Abstract

Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel and thermal decomposition method. In this technique, copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4.5H2O) is added with sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) by constant stirring and heating to produce green precipitates. The precipitates were filtered, washed with warm deionized water and dried. Thermal decomposition of precipitates is carried out in muffle furnace to produce black nanoparticles of CuO. The composition, structure and morphology of the prepared CuO nanoparticles were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. FTIR spectrum revealed absorption peaks at 480-585 cm-1 due to the vibrations of Cu (II)-O bonds. The XRD pattern was well matched with the monoclinic phase of CuO (tenorite) and well consistent with ICDD File # 05-0661. The average crystallite size of CuO nanoparticles was calculated by using Debye Sherrer equation and found equal to 63.3 nm. The morphology of CuO nanoparticles was examined by SEM images at different resolutions and cylindrical shaped nanoparticles were observed. CuO nanoparticles were mixed with composite propellant to investigate its effects on thermal decomposition of composite propellant. Composite propellant was composed essentially of ammonium perchlorate (AP) as oxidizer and hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as binder. Thermo gravimetric (TG) analysis and differential thermal gravimetry (DTG) of composite propellant mixed with 1%, 2% and 3% of CuO were performed. Descending trend in decomposition temperature of composite propellant was observed by increasing the percentage of CuO nanoparticles. By mixing 3% CuO nanoparticles, 15˚C decrease in thermal decomposition temperature of composite propellant was observed.