Decomposition reaction kinetics of double-base propellant catalyzed with graphene oxide–copper oxide nanocomposite

The purpose of this paper is the investigation of the catalytic effect of graphene oxide–copper oxide nanocomposite (GCNC) on the thermal comportment and decomposition reaction kinetics of a double-base propellant (DBP) formulation. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to conduct the thermal analysis. Using well-known iso-conversional kinetics methods, namely, Vyazovkin's nonlinear integral with compensatory effect (VYA/CE), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), the thermokinetic parameters for the investigated propellant, including activation energy and frequency factor, were estimated. Additionally, based on the results obtained from the kinetic analysis, the critical ignition temperature was calculated. The results showed that after the addition of GCNC, the activation energy barrier is lowered by 18%, and the critical ignition temperature is reduced.