Comparative investigations of ternary thermite Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO and Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/Bi_(2)O_(3) from pyrolytic,kinetics and combustion behaviors

To develop new energy enhancement energetic materials with great combustion performance and thermal stability,two kinds of ternary thermite,Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO and Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/Bi_(2)O_(3),were prepared and analyzed via mechanical ball milling.The samples were characterized by SEM,XRD,TG-DSC,constant volume and constant pressure combustion experiments.The first exothermic peaks of Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO and Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/Bi_(2)O_(3) appear at 579°C and 564.5°C,respectively.The corresponding activation energies are similar.The corresponding mechanism functions are set as G(a) = [-ln(1-a)]^(3/4) and G(a) =[-ln(1-a)]2/3,respectively,which belong to the Avrami-Erofeev equation.Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO has better thermal safety.For small dose samples,its critical temperature of thermal explosion is 121.05°C higher than that of Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/Bi_(2)O_(3).During combustion,the flame of Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO is spherical,and the main products are FeAl_(2)O_(4) and Cu.The flame of Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/Bi_(2)O_(3)is jet-like,and the main products are Al_(2)O_(3),Bi and Fe.Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/Bi_(2)O_(3)has better ignition and gas production performance.Its average ignition energy is 4.2 J lower than that of Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO.Its average step-up rate is 28.29 MPa/s,which is much higher than 6.84 MPa/s of Al/Fe_(2)O_(3)/CuO.This paper provides a reference for studying the thermal safety and combustion performance of ternary thermite.

Thermal and combustion behavior of Al-MnO_(2) nanothermite with poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) energetic binder

Fluoropolymers get increasing attention in energetic materials application due to the high fluorine content.To explore the effect of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)(P(VDF-HFP))on Al/MnO_(2) nanothermite,the samples with different contents are prepared and characterized by SEM,TGDSC,XRD,and their ignition and combustion behavior are tested and recorded.The results show that P(VDF-HFP)as an energetic binder can combine the nanothermite components together,even exist in the gaps.The integrity of energetic materials has been improved.Thermal analysis shows that the addition of P(VDF-HFP)greatly changes the thermal reaction processes,and the exothermic peaks appear early,but the utilization of fuel and oxidizer is not efficient from the XRD results.Furthermore,the appropriate addition of P(VDF-HFP)can directly reduce the ignition energy threshold and increase the combustion time,which is necessary for the potential ignition charge application.The possible reasons for above phenomena are discussed and analyzed.This research provides a reference for improvement of thermitebased ignition charge formulation.

Low-temperature-processed metal oxide electron transport layers for efficient planar perovskite solar cells

As a promising photovoltaic technology, perovskite solar cells(pero-SCs) have developed rapidly over the past few years and the highest power conversion efficiency is beyond 25%. Nowadays, the planar structure is universally popular in pero-SCs due to the simple processing technology and low-temperature preparation.Electron transport layer(ETL) is verified to play a vital role in the device performance of planar pero-SCs. Particularly, the metal oxide(MO) ETL with low-cost, superb versatility, and excellent optoelectronic properties has been widely studied. This review mainly focuses on recent developments in the use of low-temperature-processed MO ETLs for planar pero-SCs. The optical and electronic properties of widely used MO materials of TiO_(2), ZnO, and SnO_(2), as well as the optimizations of these MO ETLs are briefly introduced. The commonly used methods for depositing MO ETLs are also discussed. Then, the applications of different MO ETLs on pero-SCs are reviewed.Finally, the challenge and future research of MO-based ETLs toward practical application of efficient planar peroSCs are proposed.