Direct ink writing of high explosive composites containing metal-organic frameworks

Smart weapon systems are being miniaturised for widespread application in high-energy materials, necessitating the development of processable and printable high explosive (HEs) composites that can be detonated with a small critical diameter. This study presents an efficient strategy for fabricating HE composites with exceptional detonation performance. We developed an HE ink based on 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX), consisting of a glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) as a binder and a metal-organic framework (MOF) as an additive. This ink was deposited on an aluminium plate using direct ink writing (DIW). The resulting RDX/MOF composite demonstrated a significantly lower critical diameter (similar to 720 mu m) for detonation compared to a composite without the MOF. This reduction in critical diameter is attributed to the pores inside the MOFs, which enhanced the transfer of heat during detonation, creating an artificial hot-spot that sustained continuous explosion. The fabricated RDX/MOF composite offers a promising approach for developing miniaturized smart weapon systems with improved detonation characteristics. An RDX-based ink containing nanoporous materials and GAP binder was printed on an Al substrate. The patterns containing MOFs demonstrated exceptional detonation properties with long traces owing to the artificial porosity of the MOFs.