Preparation and study on combustion performance of AP@ZrH2 core-shell composite energetic materials with high volume energy density

The development of composite energetic material with high volume energy density could increase the range and loading capacity of solid propellants. In this study, a series of core-shell composite energetic materials AP@ZrH2 were fabricated by decorating ZrH2 on the ammonium perchlorate (AP) through a solvent-nonsolvent method. A substantial increase in combustion heat (13373.67 J/g) and maximum burning temperature (1415.33 °C) are detected in composites in contrast to physically mixed sample (10660.46 J/g and 837.22 °C). This is due to the enhancement of the decomposition performance of AP, which provides sufficient oxidation gas atmosphere for combustion of ZrH2. In addition, the delay time (524 ms) and burning time (114 ms) of composites are significantly decreased compared to the physical mixed sample (2145 and 256 ms). The remarkable combustion performance and burning rate could be attributed to reduced mass and heat transfer distances. Finally, the improvement of combustion efficiency in the composites makes the size of the residual particles smaller.