A facile solvothermal synthesis of NiFe2O4/RGO and its enhanced catalytic activity on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

In this study, NiFe2O4/RGO (reduced graphene oxide) were prepared successfully via a facile method based on solvothermal method. The as-synthesized NiFe2O4/RGO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N2 adsorption/desorption. To investigate the catalytic activity of the as-synthesized NiFe2O4/RGO nanoparticles, the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) was characterized by differential thermal analyzer (DTA). The results indicated that the low-temperature exothermic peak and the high-temperature exothermic peak were merged into a sole exothermic process with the addition of NiFe2O4/RGO nanoparticles, though there was no change in the position of the phase transition temperature of AP. Moreover, the catalytic activity of NiFe2O4/RGO nanoparticles can make the high temperature exothermic peak of ammonium perchlorate decrease remarkably. The calculated HTD kinetic parameters indicate that NiFe2O4/RGO nanoparticles can decrease the activation energy of AP and increase the reaction rate constant, which further confirms the remarkable catalyst activity. Hence, NiFe2O4/RGO nanoparticles could be a promising addictive in modifying the burning behavior of Solid composite propellant.