RDX-based nanocomposite microparticles for significantly reduced shock sensitivity

Hongwei Qiu, Victor Stepanov, Anthony R. Di Stasio, Tsengming Chou, Woo Y. Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

160 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX)-based nanocomposite microparticles were produced by a simple, yet novel spray drying method. The microparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which shows that they consist of small RDX crystals (∼0.1-1μm) uniformly and discretely dispersed in a binder. The microparticles were subsequently pressed to produce dense energetic materials which exhibited a markedly lower shock sensitivity. The low sensitivity was attributed to small crystal size as well as small void size (∼250 nm). The method developed in this work may be suitable for the preparation of a wide range of insensitive explosive compositions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)489-493
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume185
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jan 2011

Keywords

  • Explosives
  • Insensitive munitions
  • Nanocomposite microparticles
  • RDX
  • Spray drying

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