Pyrolysis kinetics and reaction mechanism studies of 5-Amino-1H-Tetrazole with thermogravimetry/ differential scanning calorimetry/ Fourier transform infrared analysis

5-Amino-1 H -Tetrazole (5AT) is extensively utilized in explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics as a high-nitrogen fuel or energetic material. Thermo-analysis is an efficient method to investigate the thermal decomposition characteristics of fuels or energetic materials, aiding in improving the safety and environmental performances of 5AT. In this study, the entire decomposition process of 5AT was explored using TG-DSC (thermogravimetrydifferential scanning calorimetry) text. To accurately obtain the complete kinetic triplets, the iso-conversion activation energy for each stage was calculated using three conventional model -free approaches including KAS, Advanced Vyazovkin, and Starink methods, the results show that the activation energy results keep a good agreement by the three methods. Two different model-fitting methods (multiple heating rates CR method and the master-plots Criado method) were also introduced to predict the reaction model and calculate pre-exponential factors based on the iso-conversion activation energy results for the corresponding stages. The similarities and differences of the predicted results from these two different methods were compared, showing almost consistent findings that the first and third stages are controlled by the Fn and Dn model, respectively. Furthermore, the validity and the relationships were effectively verified and corrected based on the obtained kinetic parameters using the kinetic compensation effect, indicating the rationality of the selected kinetic methods and the calculated kinetic parameters for studying the pyrolysis characteristics of 5AT. Additionally, TG-FTIR (thermogravimetry combined with Fourier transform infrared) analysis was also conducted to identify characteristic groups and determine a potential pyrolysis pathway for 5AT. The findings in this paper can be used as input data for thermal safety, combustion, explosion and environmental protection model simulations.