Abstract
The kinetic and activation energies of thermal decomposition of KNO3 as an oxidizer in pyrotechnic compositions were studied in the presence of Fe2O3, Mn2O3, and TiO2 nanoparticles as catalysts, using thermogravimetric analysis under argon atmosphere at different heating rates (10, 15, and 20 K min−1). The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by XRD patterns, SEM images, and BET surface area analysis. For verification of data, the activation energies for thermal decomposition of KNO3 were calculated using non-isothermal isoconversional methods of KAS, OFW, and Friedman for different conversion fraction (α) values in the range 0.1–0.9. The activation energies were 201.6–208.2, 170.0–177.9, 173.9–181.6, and 213.0–223.8 kJ mol−1, respectively, in the absence and presence of 5 mol% of Fe2O3, Mn2O3, and TiO2. The results indicated that while Fe2O3 and Mn2O3 nanoparticles have catalytic effects, TiO2 nanoparticles show inhibitory effect on the thermal decomposition of KNO3.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Joshi CS, Shukla MR, Patel K, Joshi JS, Sahu O. Environmentally and economically feasibility manufacturing process of potassium nitrate for small scale industries: a review. Int Lett Chem Phys Astron. 2015;41:88–99.
Pouretedal HR, Ravanbod M. Kinetic study of ignition of Mg/NaNO3 pyrotechnic using non-isothermal TG/DSC technique. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2015;119:2281–8.
Conkling JA. Chemistry of pyrotechnics: basic principles and theory. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.; 1985.
Redkar AS, Mujumdar VA, Singh SN. Study on magnesium-based pyrotechnic composition as a priming charge. Def Sci J. 1996;46:41–7.
Shamsipur M, Pourmortazavi SM, Fathollahi M. Kinetic parameters of binary iron/oxidant pyrolants. J Energy Mater. 2012;30:97–106.
Rajendran AG, Ammal RA, Kartha CB, Babu VV. Thermal studies on boron-based initiator formulation. Def Sci J. 1996;46:405–10.
Hosseini SG, Eslami A. Thermoanalytical investigation of relative reactivity of some nitrate oxidants in tin-fueled pyrotechnic systems. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2014;101:1111–9.
Rudloff WK, Freeman ES. Catalytic effect of metal oxides on thermal decomposition reactions. II. Catalytic effect of metal oxides on the thermal decomposition of potassium chlorate and potassium perchlorate as detected by thermal analysis methods. J Phys Chem. 1970;74:3317–24.
Chen X, Zhang X, Feng M, Pan G, Lv H. The influences of catalysts in the thermal decomposition of barium nitrate as pyrotechnic oxidants. Appl Mech Mater. 2012;217–219:766–9.
Hoshino Y, Utsunomiya T, Abe O. The thermal decomposition of sodium nitrate and effects of several oxides on the decomposition. Bull Chem Soc Jpn. 1981;54:1385–91.
Li Z, Xiang X, Bai L, Li F. A nanocomposite precursor strategy to mixed-metal oxides with excellent catalytic activity for thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. Appl Clay Sci. 2014;65–66:14–20.
Zhu YL, Huang H, Ren H, Jiao QJ. Effects of aluminum nanoparticles on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. J Korean Chem Soc. 2013;57:109–14.
Vargeese AA, Muralidharan K. Kinetics and mechanism of hydrothermally prepared copper oxide nanorod catalyzed decomposition of ammonium nitrate. Appl Catal A. 2012;447–448:171–7.
Nassar NN, Hassan A, Pereira-Almao P. Thermogravimetric studies on catalytic effect of metal oxide nanoparticles on asphaltene pyrolysis under inert conditions. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2012;110:1327–32.
Martins S, Fernandes JB, Mojumdar SC. Catalysed thermal decomposition of KClO3 and carbon gasification. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2015;119:831–5.
Kapoor IPS, Srivastava P, Singh G. Nanocrystalline transition metal oxides as catalysts in the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. Propellants Explos Pyrotech. 2009;34:351–6.
Mahinroosta M. Catalytic effect of commercial nano-CuO and nano-Fe2O3 on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. J Nanostruct Chem. 2013;3:1–6.
Chaturvedi S, Dave PN. A review on the use of nanometals as catalysts for the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. J Saudi Chem Soc. 2013;17:135–49.
Zhang Y, Kshirsagar G, Ellison JE. Catalytic effects of metal oxides on the thermal decomposition of sodium chlorate. Thermochim Acta. 1993;228:147–54.
Kissinger HE. Reaction kinetics in differential thermal analysis. Anal Chem. 1957;29:1702–6.
Akahira T, Sunose T. Method of determining activation deterioration constant of electrical insulating materials. Res Rep Chiba Inst Technol (Sci Technol). 1971;16:22–31.
Ozawa T. A new method of analyzing thermogravimetric data. Bull Chem Soc Jpn. 1965;38:1881–6.
Flynn JH, Wall LA. General treatment of the thermogravimetry of polymers. J Res Nat Bur Stand Part A. 1966;70:487–523.
Friedman HL. Kinetics of thermal degradation of char-forming plastics from thermogravimetry. Application to a phenolic plastic. J Polym Sci Part C Polym Symp. 1964;6:183–95.
Udupa MR. Thermal decomposition of potassium nitrate in the presence of chromium (III) oxide. Thermochim Acta. 1976;16:231–5.
Azhagurajan A, Selvakumar N, Thanulingam TL. Thermal and sensitivity analysis of nano aluminium powder for firework application. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2011;105:259–67.
Pouretedal HR, Tavakkoli M. Photodegradation of para-nitrophenol catalyzed by Fe2O3/FeS nanocomposite. Desalination Water Treat. 2013;51:4744–9.
Kumar H, Sangwan M, Sangwan P. Synthesis and characterization of MnO2 Nanoparticles using co-precipitation technique. Int J Chem Chem Eng. 2013;3:155–60.
Carneiro JO, Azevedo S, Fernandes F, Freitas E, Pereira M, Tavares CJ, Lanceros-Méndez S, Teixeira V. Synthesis of iron-doped TiO2 nanoparticles by ball-milling process: the influence of process parameters on the structural, optical, magnetic, and photocatalytic properties. J Mater Sci. 2014;49:7476–88.
Thamaphat K, Limsuwan P, Ngotawornchai B. Phase characterization of TiO2 powder by XRD and TEM. Kasetsart J (Nat Sci). 2008;42:357–61.
Wang ZH, Geng DY, Hu WJ, Ren WJ, Zhang ZD. Magnetic properties and exchange bias in Mn2O3/Mn3O4 nanoclusters. J Appl Phys. 2009;105:07A315/1–3.
Maslen EN, Streltsov VA, Streltsova NR, Ishizawa N. Synchrotron X-ray study of the electron density in α-Fe2O3. Acta Crystallogr B. 1994;50:435–41.
Arcon I, Mozetic M, Kodre A. XAS study of oxygen plasma-treated micronized iron oxide pigments. Vacuum. 2005;80:178–83.
Scherrer P. Bestimmung der grosse und der inneren struktur von kolloidteilchen mittel rontgenstrahlen, nachrichten von der gesellschaft der wissenschaften, Gottingen. Math Phys Kl. 1918;2:98–100.
Krishnan KRR, Ammal RA, Hariharanath B, Rajendran AG, Kartha CB. Addition of RDX/HMX on the ignition behavior of boron-potassium nitrate pyrotechnic charge. Def Sci J. 2006;56:329–38.
Vyazovkin S, Burnham AK, Criado JM, Pérez-Maqueda LA, Popescu C, Sbirrazzuoli N. ICTAC kinetics committee recommendations for performing kinetic computations on thermal analysis data. Thermochim Acta. 2011;520:1–19.
Pouretedal HR, Ebadpour R. Application of non-isothermal thermogravimetric method to interpret the decomposition kinetics of NaNO3, KNO3, and KClO4. Int J Thermophys. 2014;35:942–51.
Nayak H, Ashish K. Catalyst effect of transition metal nano oxides on the decomposition of lanthanum oxalate hydrate: a thermogravimetric study. Int J Sci Res. 2014;3:381–8.
Zhang Y, Kshirsagar G, Ellison JE, Cannon JC. Catalytic effects of metal oxides on the decomposition of potassium perchlorate. Thermochim Acta. 1996;278:119–27.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the research committee of Malek-Ashtar University of Technology (MUT) and Professor M. K. Amini for supporting this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ravanbod, M., Pouretedal, H.R. Catalytic effect of Fe2O3, Mn2O3, and TiO2 nanoparticles on thermal decomposition of potassium nitrate. J Therm Anal Calorim 124, 1091–1098 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-5167-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-5167-y