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Enhancement of the ignition and combustion performance of nano-aluminum: the effect of cryolite

  • Composites & nanocomposites
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Abstract

To study the effect of cryolite (Na3AlF6) on the ignition and combustion performance of nano-aluminum (n-Al), composites of n-Al with varying amounts of Na3AlF6 were prepared by physical mixing. By using TG–DSC–MS, TG–DTA, SEM–EDS, XRD, and a high-speed camera, the thermal characteristics, activation energy, ignition delay time, combustion phenomena, and reaction products of the materials were examined. The results show that there was a pre-ignition reaction between n-Al and Na3AlF6. The exotherm was roughly double that of n-Al after the addition of Na3AlF6. The n-Al gas–solid reaction had lower activation energy. The ignition and combustion tests reveal that Na3AlF6 decreased n-Al's ignition delay time to 50 ms, whereas an excess of Na3AlF6 had a negative effect. The n-Al with the Na3AlF6 addition displayed more violent combustion events during combustion. Analysis of the reaction products demonstrates that Na3AlF6 reacted with Al2O3 to generate aluminum oxyfluoride complex ions, which then reacted with Al2O3 to form Na2Al2xO3x+1 (Na2Al22O34) and AlF3. The addition of Na3AlF6 effectively enhanced the ignition and combustion performance of n-Al, which is beneficial to the optimization of Al-based energetic nanocomposites.

Graphical Abstract

Nano-aluminum with varying additions of cryolite was prepared by physical mixing, and the effect of cryolite on the ignition and combustion performance of nano-aluminum was analyzed

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Yajun Wang, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the project of State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology (Beijing Institute of Technology, China) (No. YBKT19-04). Additionally, we appreciate Beijing Institute of Technology's Dr. Zhimin Li and Mr. Wenchuan Cheng for supplying the high-speed camera for the examination of the samples.

Funding

This work was supported by the project of State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology (Beijing Institute of Technology, China) [grant number YBKT19-04].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Ruihua Liu, Yajun Wang & Zhengliang Deng

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  1. Ruihua Liu
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  2. Yajun Wang
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  3. Zhengliang Deng
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Contributions

RL: Investigation, Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Writing—Original draft preparation. YW: Supervision, Writing—Original draft preparation, Writing—Reviewing and Editing. ZD: Data curation, Writing—Reviewing and Editing.

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Correspondence to Yajun Wang.

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Liu, R., Wang, Y. & Deng, Z. Enhancement of the ignition and combustion performance of nano-aluminum: the effect of cryolite. J Mater Sci 58, 12650–12663 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08824-6

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