Influences of aging on thermal decomposition mechanism of high performance oxidizer ammonium dinitramide

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) is one of the several promising new solid propellant oxidizers. ADN is of interest because its oxygen balance and energy content are high, and it also halogen-free. One of the most important characteristics of a propellant oxidizer, however, is stability and ADN is known to degrade to ammonium nitrate (AN) during storage, which will affect its performance. This study focused on the effects of aging on the thermal decomposition mechanism of ADN. The thermal behaviors of ADN and ADN/AN mixtures were studied, as were the gases evolved during their decomposition, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis-infrared spectrometry (TG–DTA-IR), and thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis-mass spectrometry (TG–DTA-MS). The results of these analyses demonstrated that the decomposition of ADN occurs via a series of distinct stages in the condensed phase. The gases evolved from ADN decomposition were N₂O, NO₂, N₂, and H₂O. In contrast, ADN mixed with AN (to simulate aging) did not exhibit the same initial reaction. We conclude that aging inhibits early stage, low temperature decomposition reactions of ADN. Two possible reasons were proposed, these being either a decrease in the acidity of the material due to the presence of AN, or inhibition of the acidic dissociation of dinitramic acid by NO ₃ ^? .     

The thermal decomposition of the new energetic material ammoniumdinitramide (NH4N(NO2)2) in relation to Nitramide (NH2NO2) and NH4NO3

This qualitative study examines the response of the novel energetic material ammonium dinitramide (ADN), NH₄N(NO₂)₂, to thermal stress under low heating rate conditions in a new experimental apparatus. It involved a combination of residual gas mass spectrometry and FTIR absorption spectroscopy of a thin cryogenic condensate film resulting from deposition of ADN pyrolysis products on a KCl window. The results of ADN pyrolysis were compared under similar conditions with the behavior of NH₄NO₃ and NH₂NO₂ (nitramide), which served as reference materials. NH₄NO₃ decomposes into HNO₃ and NH₃ at 182°C and is regenerated on the cold cryostat surface. HNO₃ undergoes presumably heterogeneous loss to a minor extent such that the condensed film of NH₄NO₃ contains occluded NH₃. Nitramide undergoes efficient heterogeneous decomposition to N₂O and H₂O even at ambient temperature so that pyrolysis experiments at higher temperatures were not possible. However, the presence of nitramide can be monitored by mass spectrometry at its molecular ion (m/? 62). ADN pyrolysis is dominated by decomposition into NH₃ and HN(NO₂)₂ (HDN) in analogy to NH₄NO₃, with a maximum rate of decomposition under our conditions at approximately 155°C. The two vapor phase components regenerate ADN on the cold cryostat surface in addition to deposition of the pure acid HDN and H₂O. Condensed phase HDN is found to be stable for indefinite periods of time at ambient temperature and vacuum conditions, whereas fast heterogeneous decomposition of HDN at higher temperature leads to N₂O and HNO₃. The HNO₃ then undergoes fast (heterogeneous) decomposition in some experiments. Gas phase HDN also undergoes fast heterogeneous decomposition to NO and other products, probably on the internal surface (ca. 60°C) of the vacuum chamber before mass spectrometric detection. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A theoretical study on the structure and hygroscopicity of ammonium dinitramide

Density functional theory (DFT) and the dispersion corrected DFT have been used to investigate the hygroscopicity of ammonium dinitramide (ADN). Calculation results show that the gaseous ADN has a strong hydrogen bond. But the ionic pair structure NH₄ ⁺ · N(NO₂)^? is stabilized upon the addition of water molecules. Natural bond orbital calculations suggest that the intra- and intermolecular orbital interactions LP(O) → σ*(N–H) or LP(O) → σ*(O–H) make the system stabilized as a whole. En energy decomposition analysis reveals that the interactions between ADN and H₂O are dominated by the electrostatic and orbital interactions. The formation reactions become more spontaneous with the increasing number of water molecules but can be weakened by the growing temperature from 200 to 400 K. Moreover, the molecular dynamic method is applied to explore a more realistic cluster model to study the interactions between ADN and H₂O.     

Reactivity analysis of ammonium dinitramide binary mixtures based on ab initio calculations and thermal analysis

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) is a promising high energy oxidizer for rocket propellants because it offers a good oxygen balance and has a significant energy content. As a result, ADN-based energetic ionic liquid propellants (EILPs) have been studied, based on ADN combined with urea and monomethyl ammonium nitrate (MMAN). The thermal decomposition of ADN in the condensed phase affects the combustion of both pure ADN and ADN-based EILPs; thus, it is important to understand the reactions of EILPs in the condensed phase. The present study assessed the reactivity of ADN mixtures in the condensed phase, focussing on hydrogen abstraction reactions with NO₂· formed from the thermal decomposition of ADN. The potential energy surfaces of these reactions were obtained using ab initio calculations. The effects of functional groups and of carbon chain length on hydrogen abstraction by NO₂· were examined. Mixtures of ADN with urea and acetamide (AA) as amide compounds, and with MMAN and monoethanol amine nitrate (MEAN) as nitrate salts, were examined. Thermal analysis was conducted to investigate the properties of these mixtures, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The calculation results shows that AA and MEAN are more reactive with ADN than urea and MMAN, which is supported by the DSC data. Hydrogen abstraction by NO₂· is evidently an important condensed phase reaction in ADN mixtures, and substances having alkyl groups and longer carbon chains are more highly reactive.

     

Effects of temperature on nitration of sulfamates

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) has attracted great interest as a potential oxidizer for next generation rocket propellants. It is a halogen-free alternative to ammonium perchlorate, which is currently in wide used as a solid propellant oxidizer. However, in ADN synthesis, N-nitration is necessary to form the N-(NO₂)₂ group. Using a reaction calorimeter, the thermal behavior of nitration of sulfamates (K, Na, and NH₄) using a mixture of acids (HNO₃/H₂SO₄ and HNO₃/AcOH) as the nitration agent was examined. The heat of decomposition of potassium sulfamate at ?10 °C was greater than that at 20 °C. The heat of decomposition decreased in the following order: K salt>Na salt>NH₄ salt in HNO₃/H₂SO₄. The dipole moments of the sulfamates were calculated, and the results revealed that the electronic states of nitrogen were different. Thus, the dipole moments of sulfamates affect the decomposition heat of sulfamates. The heat of decomposition in HNO₃/AcOH was larger than that in HNO₃/H₂SO₄.     

Sputtered ammonium dinitramide: Tandem mass spectrometry of a new ionic nitramine

The recently synthesized ammonium dinitramide (ADN) is an ionic compound containing the ammonium ion and a new oxide of nitrogen, the dinitramide anion (O₂N? N? NO₂^?). ADN has been investigated using high-energy xenon atoms to sputter ions directly from the surface of the neat crystalline solid. Tandem mass spectrometric techniques were used to study dissociation pathways and products of the sputtered ions. Among the sputtered ionic products were NH₄⁺, NO⁺, NO₂^?, N₂O₂^?, N₂O, N₃O₄^? and an unexpected high abundance of NO₃^?. Tandem mass spectra of the dinitramide anion reveal the uncommon situation where a product ion (NO₃^?) is formed in high relative abundance from metastable parent ions but is formed in very low relative abundance from collisionally activated parent ions. It is proposed that the nitrate anion is formed in the gas phase by a rate-determining isomerization of the dinitramide anion that proceeds through a four-centered transition state. The formation of the strong gas-phase acid, dinitraminic acid (HN₃O₄), the conjugate acid of the dinitramide anion, was observed to occur by dissociation of protonated ADN and by dissociation of ADN aggregate ions with the general formula [NH₄(N(NO₂)₂)_n] NH₄⁺, where n = 1–30.     

Identification of Thermal Decomposition Products and Reactions for Liquid Ammonium Nitrate on the Basis of Ab Initio Calculation

This work analyzed the thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate (AN) in the liquid phase, using computations based on quantum mechanics to confirm the identity of the products observed in past experimental studies. During these ab initio calculations, the CBS‐QB3//ωB97XD/6–311++G(d,p) method was employed. It was found that one of the most reasonable reaction pathways is HNO₃ + NH₄⁺ → NH₃NO₂⁺ + H₂O followed by NH₃NO₂⁺ + NO₃^– → NH₂NO₂ + HNO₃. In the case in which HNO₃ accumulates in the molten AN, alternate reactions producing NH₂NO₂ are HNO₃ + HNO₃ → N₂O₅ + H₂O and subsequently N₂O₅ + NH₄⁺ → NH₂NO₂ + H₂O. In both scenarios, HNO₃ plays the role of a catalyst and the overall reaction can be written as NH₄⁺ + NO₃^– (AN) → NH₂NO₂ + H₂O. Although the unimolecular decomposition of NH₂NO₂ is thermodynamically unfavorable, water and bases both promote the decomposition of this molecule to N₂O and H₂O. Thus AN thermal decomposition in the liquid phase can be summarized as NH₄⁺ + NO₃^– (AN) → N₂O + 2H₂O.     

Thermal decomposition of polycrystalline [Ni(NH3)6](NO3)2

The thermal decompositions of polycrystalline samples of [Ni(NH₃)₆](NO₃)₂ were studied by thermogravimetric analysis with simultaneous gaseous products of the decomposition identified by a quadruple mass spectrometer. Two measurements were made for samples placed in alumina crucibles, heated from 303 K up to 773 K in the flow (80 cm³ min^?1) of Ar 6.0 and He 5.0, at a constant heating rate of 10 K min^?1. Thermal decomposition process undergoes two main stages. First, the deamination of [Ni(NH₃)₆](NO₃)₂ to [Ni(NH₃)₂](NO₃)₂ occurs in four steps, and 4NH₃ molecules per formula unit are liberated. Then, decomposition of survivor [Ni(NH₃)₂](NO₃)₂ undergoes directly to the final decomposition products: NiO_1+x, N₂, O₂, nitrogen oxides and H₂O, without the formation of a stable Ni(NO₃)₂, because of the autocatalytic effect of the formed NiO_1+x. Obtained results were compared both with those published by us earlier, by Farhadi and Roostaei-Zaniyani later and also with the results published by Rejitha et al. quite recently. In contradiction to these last ones, in the first and second cases agreement between the results was obtained.     

Kinetics of the thermal decomposition of dinitramide

The kinetic regularities of the heat release during the thermal decomposition of liquid NH₄N(NO₂)₂ at 102.4–138.9 °C were studied. Kinetic data for decomposition of different forms of dinitramide and the influence of water on the rate of decomposition of NH₄N(NO₂)₂ show that the contributions of the decomposition of N(NO₂)₂ ⁻ and HN(NO₂)₂ to the initial decomposition rate of the reaction at temperatures about 100 °C are approximately equal. The decomposition has an autocatalytic character. The analysis of the effect of additives of HNO₃ solutions and the dependence of the autocatalytic reaction rate constant on the gas volume in the system shows that the self-acceleration is due to an increase in the acidity of the NH₄N(NO₂)₂ melt owing to the accumulation of HNO₃ and the corresponding increase in the contribution of the HN(NO₂)₂ decomposition to the overall rate. The self-acceleration ceases due to the accumulation of NO₃ ⁻ ions decreasing the equilibrium concentration of HN(NO₂)₂ in the melt. For Part 2, see Ref. 1. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 395–401 March 1998.     

Ab initio chemical kinetics for the NH2 + HNOx reactions,part III: Kinetics and mechanism for NH2 + HONO2

The kinetics and mechanism for the reaction of NH₂ with HONO₂ have been investigated by ab initio calculations with rate constant prediction. The potential energy surface of this reaction has been computed by single‐point calculations at the CCSD(T)/6‐311+G(3df, 2p) level based on geometries optimized at the B3LYP/6‐311+G(3df, 2p) level. The reaction producing the primary products, NH₃ + NO₃, takes place via a precursor complex, H₂N…HONO₂ with an 8.4‐kcal/mol binding energy. The rate constants for major product channels in the temperature range 200–3000 K are predicted by variational transition state or variational Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus theory. The results show that the reaction has a noticeable pressure dependence at T < 900 K. The total rate constants at 760 Torr Ar‐pressure can be represented by k_total = 1.71 × 10^?3 × T^?3.85 exp(?96/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at T = 200–550 K, 5.11 × 10^?23 × T^+3.22 exp(70/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at T = 550–3000 K. The branching ratios of primary channels at 760 Torr Ar‐pressure are predicted: k₁ producing NH₃ + NO₃ accounts for 1.00–0.99 in the temperature range of 200–3000 K and k₂ + k₃ producing H₂NO + HONO accounts for less than 0.01 when temperature is more than 2600 K. The reverse reaction, NH₃ + NO₃ → NH₂ + HONO₂ shows relatively weak pressure dependence at P < 100 Torr and T < 600 K due to its precursor complex, NH₃…O₃N with a lower binding energy of 1.8 kcal/mol. The predicted rate constants can be represented by k_?1 = 6.70 × 10^?24 × T^+3.58 exp(?850/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at T = 200–3000 K and 760 Torr N₂ pressure, where the predicted rate at T = 298 K, 2.8 × 10^?16 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 is in good agreement with the experimental data. The NH₃ + NO₃ formation rate constant was found to be a factor of 4 smaller than that of the reaction OH + HONO₂ producing the H₂O + NO₃ because of the lower barrier for the transition state for the OH + HONO₂. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 69–78, 2010     

Ab initio chemical kinetics for the NH2 + HNOx reactions,part II: Kinetics and mechanism for NH2 + HONO

The kinetics and mechanism for the reaction of NH₂ with HONO have been investigated by ab initio calculations with rate constant prediction. The potential energy surface of this reaction has been computed by single‐point calculations at the CCSD(T)/6‐311+G(3df, 2p) level based on geometries optimized at the CCSD/6‐311++G(d, p) level. The reaction producing the primary products, NH₃ + NO₂, takes place via precomplexes, H₂N???c‐HONO or H₂N???t‐HONO with binding energies, 5.0 or 5.9 kcal/mol, respectively. The rate constants for the major reaction channels in the temperature range of 300–3000 K are predicted by variational transition state theory or Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus theory depending on the mechanism involved. The total rate constant can be represented by k_total = 1.69 × 10^?20 × T^2.34 exp(1612/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at T = 300–650 K and 8.04 × 10^?22 × T^3.36 exp(2303/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at T = 650–3000 K. The branching ratios of the major channels are predicted: k₁ + k₃ producing NH₃ + NO₂ accounts for 1.00–0.98 in the temperature range 300–3000 K and k₂ producing OH + H₂NNO accounts for 0.02 at T > 2500 K. The predicted rate constant for the reverse reaction, NH₃ + NO₂ → NH₂ + HONO represented by 8.00 × 10^?26 × T^4.25 exp(?11,560/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1, is in good agreement with the experimental data. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 41: 678–688, 2009     

Rate constant for the NH3 + NO2 → NH2 + HONO reaction: Comparison of kinetically modeled and predicted results

The rate constant for the NH₃ + NO₂ rlhar2; NH₂ + HONO reaction (1) has been kinetically modeled by using the photometrically measured NO₂ decay rates available in the literature. The rates of NO₂ decay were found to be strongly dependent on reaction (1) and, to a significant extent, on the secondary reactions of NH₂ with NO_X and the decomposition of HONO formed in the initiation reaction. These secondary reactions lower the values of k₁ determined directly from the experiments. Kinetic modeling of the initial rates of NO₂ decay computed from the reported rate equation, - d[NO₂]/dt = k₁[NH₃][NO₂] based on the conditions employed led to the following expression: This result agrees closely with the values predicted by ab initio MO [G2M//B3LYP/6-311 G(d,p)] and TST calculations. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 29: 245–251, 1997.     

Theoretical study on initial decomposition paths of energetic materials featuring RDX ring

The molecular properties of RDX are affected by the introduction of different functional groups, and the decomposition process of these analogues is studied in this paper. DFT method is used to study the initial decomposition reaction paths of 30 high energy materials based RDX skeleton. In the nitro cleavage reaction, the energy barrier become relatively low by introducing CH(NO₂)₂ or  C(NO₂)₃ groups on the C site of the six membered ring. In the ring opening reaction, the ring opening process is easier to proceed by introducing  NH₂ or  NHNH₂ groups on the C site of the six membered ring.     

Stabilization of ammonium dinitramide in the liquid phase

The kinetics of accumulation of the main products of thermal decomposition of ammonium dinitramide in the melt was investigated. The isotope composition of nitrogen-containing gases evolved by the decomposition of ¹⁵NH₄N(NO₂)₂ and NH₄ ¹⁵N(NO₂)₂ was found. Easily oxidized salts, amines, amides, iodides, and other compounds soluble in the melt interfere with the liquid-phase decomposition of ammonium dinitramide.     

Studies on CL-20: The most powerful high energy material

CL-20 is an attractive HEM having density (>2 g cm^-3) and velocity of detonation (9400 m s^-1) superior to HMX (1.9 g cm^-3 and 9100 m s^-1). During this study, CL-20 was synthesized to establish viability of efficient synthesis method. The compound synthesized at HEMRL was characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR and elemental analysis. Thermal studies (dynamic DSC and isothermal TG) were undertaken to determine kinetic parameters and understand the decomposition patterns. An attempt is made to explain the mechanism of decomposition of CL-20 on the basis of the data obtained by the authors and findings of other researchers. The activation energy values obtained during this work by adopting various approaches are close to the values reported for N-NO₂ bond cleavage suggesting that it is global rate determining process rather than the collapse of cage structure. Mass spectra also provides evidences in this regard. Monitoring of decomposition products at high temperature supports these findings and brings out that NO₂ initiates secondary decomposition processes because of entrapment in cage structure. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Theoretical analysis of the initial stages of the thermal decomposition of trinitromethane

The hybrid method B3LYP/6-311G* of density functional theory is used to optimize the geometries of nitroform and some intermediates of its decomposition (CH(NO₂)₂, CH(NO₂)₂ONO, CH(NO₂), and HC(O)NO) and to locate the transition states of the dissociation and isomerization reactions involving these species. The heat of formation of nitroform and of the intermediates of its decomposition and the Gibbs energies of activation of the reactions examined are calculated using the modern ab initio multilevel procedures G2M(CC5) and G2. The high-pressure limits of the rate constants of these reactions in the temperature range 300–2000 K are calculated using transition state theory or its variational analogue.     

Reactions of naphthalene in N2O5?NO3?NO2? air mixtures

The reactions of naphthalene in N₂O₅? NO₃? NO₂? N₂? O₂ reactant mixtures have been investigated over the temperature range 272–297 K at ca. 745 torr total pressure and at 272 K and ca. 65 torr total pressure using long pathlength Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy. 2,3-Dimethyl-2-butene was added to the reactant mixtures at 272 K to rapidly scavenge the NO₃ radicals both initially present in the added N₂O₅ and formed from the thermal decomposition of N₂O₅ during the reactions. The data obtained in the presence and absence of added 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene showed that napthalene undergoes initial reaction with the NO₃ radical to form an NO₃-naphthalene adduct, which either rapidly decomposes back to the reactants (at a rate of ca. 5 × 10⁵ s^?1 at 298 K) or reacts exclusively with NO₂ to form products. When NO₃ radicals, N₂O₅ and NO₂ are in equilibrium, this overall process is kinetically equivalent to reaction of naphthalene with N₂O₅, and previous kinetic and product studies have indeed assumed the reactions of naphthalene and alkyl-substituted naphthalenes in N₂O₅? NO₃? NO₂? air mixtures to be with N₂O₅, and not with NO₃ radicals.     

高压下β-HMX热分解机理的ReaxFF反应分子动力学模拟

采用ReaxFF反应分子动力学方法研究了不同压缩态β-HMX晶体(ρ=1.89、2.11、2.22、2.46、2.80、3.20 g·cm^-3)在T=2500 K时的热分解机理, 分析了压力对初级和次级化学反应速率的影响、高压与低压下初始分解机理的区别以及造成反应机理发生变化的原因. 发现HMX的初始分解机理与压力(或密度)相关. 低压下(ρ<2.80 g·cm^-3)以分子内反应为主, 即N－NO₂键的断裂、HONO的生成以及分子主环的断裂(C－N键的断裂). 高压下(ρ≥2.80 g·cm^-3)分子内反应被显著地抑制, 而分子间反应得到促进, 生成了较多的O₂、HO等小分子和大分子团簇. 初始分解机理随压力的变化导致不同密度下的反应速率和势能也有所不同. 本文在原子水平对高压下HMX反应机理的深入研究对于认识含能材料在极端条件下的起爆、化学反应的发展以及爆轰等具有重要意义.     

Effects of Process Variables on NOx Conversion by Pulsed Corona Discharge Process

We investigated the effects of several process variables (initial concentrations of NO, NH₃, and H₂O and electron concentration) on NOx conversion by the pulsed corona discharge process (PCDP). In the PCDP, most of the NO is converted into NO₂ and, later, into HNO₃ which reacts with NH₃ to form NH₄NO₃ particles. We solved the model equations of chemical species in the PCDP considering 23 chemical species and 54 chemical reactions. As the initial NO concentration increases or electron concentration decreases, it takes a longer reactor length to remove the NO_x by the PCDP. As the initial H₂O, it takes a shorter reactor length to remove the NO_x. As the initial NO and H₂O and electron concentration decreases, or as the initial NH3 concentration increases, it takes a longer reactor length to consume the NH₃ by the particle formation reactions. The information on the effects of several process variables on the plasma chemistry in NO_x conversion can be the basis guideline to develop a more efficient PCDP and this study can be extended to obtain the information on particle characteristics of ammonium salts.