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Bio-inspired designing strategy and properties of energetic crystals@ (CNFs@PDA) composites

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Abstract

The inherent high sensitivity and polymorphs phase transition of 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX) and 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) have impeded their extensive practical applications in propellants. Recently, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) have attracted an intense attention due to its biodegradable, outstanding mechanical properties, and tunable surface physicochemical, thereby possessing promising application in energetic materials. However, the poor hydrophobicity and dispersion of CNFs easily agglomerate to units, which may encounter low-utilization of CNFs. Inspired by the strong chemical adhesion properties of mussels, a facile and noncovalent in-situ polymerization of dopamine was introduced to modify CNFs through a simple immersion method. Then, utilizing the as-prepared CNFs@PDA (polydopamine) to modify the energetic crystals via a brief and safe water suspension method. The in-depth characterizations of the obtained energetic crystal@(CNFs@PDA) composites demonstrate that CNFs were coated with a dense coating PDA, wherein CNFs@PDA deposit uniformly on the surfaces of energetic crystals, and the dispersibility of CNFs was improved remarkably. In addition, the thermal stability was obviously improved, whose phase transition temperature of HMX and CL-20 in the increased β → δ and ε → γ from 184.1 to 206.9 °C and from 162.7 to 182.2 °C, respectively. The sensitivity of composites was also significantly decreased compared with original energetic crystals. Hence, this construction strategy of energetic crystal@(CNFs@PDA) composites provides a promising method for the modification of energetic crystals and application potential propellants.

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Acknowledgments

This study thanks Dr. Wang Binbing and Prof. Xu Bin for their experimental help and technical support. Thanks to the analysis and testing center of Nanjing university of science and technology for their experimental help and technical support. This study thanks to the supporting of Jiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral Talent.

Funding

This work was supported by the Jiangsu Funding Program for Excellent Postdoctoral Talent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, Jiangsu, China

    Ling Chen, Derong Meng, Jianwei Zhang, Xiang Cao, Fengqiang Nan, Xin Liao & Weidong He

  2. Key Laboratory of Special Energy Materials, Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210094, Jiangsu, China

    Ling Chen, Derong Meng, Jianwei Zhang, Xiang Cao, Fengqiang Nan, Xin Liao & Weidong He

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  1. Ling Chen
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  2. Derong Meng
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  3. Jianwei Zhang
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  4. Xiang Cao
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  5. Fengqiang Nan
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  6. Xin Liao
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  7. Weidong He
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Contributions

LC and DM are co-first authors of the article. LC: Data curation, Methodology, Writing-Original draft preparation. JZ: Second corresponding author, Conceptualization, Raw materials provider, Writing-Reviewing and Editing, Funding acquisition. DM: Data curation. XC: Writing-Editing. FN: Supply for the experimental platform, funding provider, Writing-Editing. XL: Writing-Reviewing and Editing. WH: First corresponding author, Conceptualization, Raw materials provider, Writing-Reviewing and Editing, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Fengqiang Nan or Weidong He.

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Chen, L., Meng, D., Zhang, J. et al. Bio-inspired designing strategy and properties of energetic crystals@ (CNFs@PDA) composites. Cellulose 30, 7729–7743 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-023-05324-3

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