This article is cited in 15 papers

Mechanism of combustion catalysis by ferrocene derivatives. 2. Combustion of ammonium perchlorate-based propellants with ferrocene derivatives

V. P. Sinditskii, A. N. Chernyi, D. A. Marchenkov

D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Moscow, 125047, Russia

Abstract: Combustion of mixtures of a narrow fraction of ammonium perchlorate (AP) with hydrocarbon binders and combustion catalysts diethylferrocene and 1,1'-bis(dimethyloctyloxysilyl)ferrocene, as well as nano-sized Fe$_3$O$_3$ is studied. It is shown that the efficiency of ferrocene compounds from the viewpoint of increasing the burning rate depends on the oxidizer/fuel ratio in the propellant and on the place of the leading reaction of combustion. In composites with a high oxidizer/fuel ratio whose combustion follows the gas-phase model, the catalyst efficiency is rather low. In systems with a low oxidizer/fuel ratio where the contribution of condensed-phase reactions to the burning rate of the system is rather large, the catalyst efficiency is noticeably greater, and it is directly related to the possibility of formation of a soot skeleton during combustion. The close values of the catalytic activity of ferrocenes and Fe$_2$O$_3$ in the case of their small concentrations in such compositions testify that the main contribution to the increase in the propellant burning rate is made by Fe$_2$O$_3$ formed due to rapid oxidation of ferrocene on the AP surface and accumulated on the soot skeleton. Thermocouple measurements of propellants with a low oxidizer/fuel ratio are performed, and it is shown that the temperature of their surface is determined by plasticizer evaporation. A phenomenological model of combustion of the examined propellants is proposed.

Keywords: mechanism of catalysis, diethylferrocene, ammonium perchlorate, combustion, catalyst.

UDC: 536.45

Received: 10.06.2013

 English version: Combustion, Explosion and Shock Waves, 2014, 50:2, 158–167

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