Energetic hydrogen-bonded open-framework as promising green combustion catalyst for nitramine-based solid propellants

The development of halogen-free nitramine-based green solid propellants has attracted a significant interest due to their application in rapidly developing aerospace technologies. However, relatively low burn rates, and generation of high pressure in the combustion chamber limit applications of such propellants. The alleviation of these problems could be achieved by using suitable combustion catalysts. Herein, a new energetic nitrogen-rich open framework compound 1 was prepared and evaluated as an efficient Pb-free combustion catalyst for HMX-nitrocellulose-nitroglycerin solid composite propellant formulation. Compound 1 was synthesized by a straightforward one-step process, its structure was comprehensively characterized by x-ray crystallography, and it was found to be thermostable (decomposition at 289 °C), insensitive to mechanical impact and friction (60 J, 360 N), and showed high hydrolytic stability. A propellant formulation containing 3.0 wt.% of 1 exhibited 45% increase in its burning rate (under 6.0 MPa) versus catalyst-free reference propellant. In the pressure range of 3–10 MPa, the pressure exponent was calculated to be 0.32, which is more than two times lower than of the reference propellant. These impressive properties of catalyst 1 suggest that it has a great potential to be further used in the development of future highly energetic green solid propellants.