LAUSR

This work reports synthesis and catalytic effect of cobalt copper zinc ferrite (CoCuZnFe2O4) on the thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate (AN). AN is a crystalline hygroscopic powder widely applicable as an oxidizer in the propellant formulations for high energetic materials but requires improvement in its thermal decomposition characteristics. Nanocatalyst spinel ferrite CoCuZnFe2O4 was prepared using the coprecipitation method and characterized by various physicochemical instrumental techniques like XRD, FE-SEM, UV–vis, Raman, and TG-DSC. Catalytic study of AN in the presence of nano-CoCuZnFe2O4 was investigated using DSC analysis. The Raman and XRD study confirm the formation of ferrite with a crystalline size 9–22 nm. TG suggests that the catalyst was thermally stable up to 400 °C with ∼10% mass loss. The UV–vis study shows that the optical band gap energy of CoCuZnFe2O4 was 2.6 eV, which may help in fast acceleration of electrons during thermolysis of AN, making the thermal decomposition of AN more favorable in the presence of CoCuZnFe2O4. The thermal decomposition investigation suggests that the activation energy of AN thermolysis in the presence of 2 wt % CoCuZnFe2O4 was decreased by ∼37%. It is concluded that CoCuZnFe2O4 can be used as an efficient catalyst for improving AN’s thermal characteristics.