Thermal decomposition and combustion behavior of potassium perchlorate catalyzed by LaFeO3

Abstract

To improve the combustion behavior of potassium perchlorate-based pyrotechnics, this study successfully prepared perovskite LaFeO₃ with nitrates as raw materials using the co-precipitation method and characterized perovskite LaFeO₃ through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Moreover, it investigated the catalytic effect of LaFeO₃ on the thermal decomposition of potassium perchlorate (KP) through the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and explored the thermal reaction behavior of pyrotechnics composed of KP and lactose. The results show that the thermal decomposition temperature of KP was 552 ​°C by adding LaFeO₃, reduced by 58 ​°C. The temperature of catalytic decomposition was exactly the extrapolated onset temperature of the endothermic melting peak of KP. The addition of LaFeO₃ caused the premature decomposition of the KP not yet molten, thus generating more heat in its thermal decomposition. Moreover, the addition of LaFeO₃ reduced the thermal reaction peak temperature of pyrotechnics by 7 ​°C and increased the burning rate to more than two times.