Preparation of Nano-Cu-Fe Composite Metal Oxides via a Mechanical Grinding Method and Its Catalytic Performance for the Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate

In this article, a series of nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides (nano CuO/Fe2O3), with different molar ratios of CuO/Fe2O3 (1:2, 1:1, 1:0.5, 1:0.25), were prepared in large-scale by mechanical grinding. The microstructures, surface elements and morphologies of samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalytic effects of nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were investigated by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) techniques. The results show that nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides with the molar ratio of CuO/Fe2O3?=?1:2 have the best catalytic effect for AP thermal decomposition as compared to the other nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides, the single nano CuO, and nano Fe2O3. Also, the results show that the decomposition temperature of AP has fallen from 441.3?C to 355.3?C, whereas the decomposition heat has risen from 941 to 1749?J/g, which supports the existence of a synergistic effect between CuO and Fe2O3 nanoparticles.