Ionic liquid propellants: Future fuels for space propulsion

Qinghua Zhang, Jean'Ne M. Shreeve

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

116 Scopus citations

Abstract

Use of green propellants is a trend for future space propulsion. Hypergolic ionic liquid propellants, which are environmentally-benign while exhibiting energetic performances comparable to hydrazine, have shown great potential to meet the requirements of developing nontoxic high-performance propellant formulations for space propulsion applications. This Concept article presents a review of recent advances in the field of ionic liquid propellants. Up, up, and away: The use of green propellants is a trend for future space propulsion. Hypergolic ionic liquid propellants, which are environmentally benign and exhibit energetic performances comparable to hydrazine, have shown great potential to meet the requirements of developing nontoxic, high-performance, propellant formulations for space propulsion applications (see figure).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15446-15451
Number of pages6
JournalChemistry - A European Journal
Volume19
Issue number46
DOIs
StatePublished - 11 Nov 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • fuels
  • hypergolicity
  • ignition delay
  • ionic liquids
  • propellants

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