Thermal decomposition and combustion behavior of the core-shell Al@AP composite embedded with CuO as a catalyst

Conventional solid propellants suffer from undesirable combustion performance due to the poor mass and heat transfer between metal fuels and oxidizers, as well as a lack of catalytic active sites between the catalyst and catalyzed objects. Embedding metal fuels and catalysts within the oxidizer has shown promise in improving the overall combustion performance of HTPB/AP/Al and HTPB/AP/RDX/Al composite solid propellants. However, the underlying mechanisms responsible for this enhancement remain to be further understood. In this study, we investigated the reactivities of core–shell Al@AP and Al@AP/CuO composites using thermal analysis and combustion diagnostic techniques. The results demonstrated that the decomposition of AP was promoted, as evidenced by a lower peak temperature (415.2–334.7 ℃), higher total heat release (116.4–720.8 J·g⁻¹), a transition in the decomposition physical model from the random nucleation and 2D/3D growth of nuclei model to the auto-catalytic model, and increased generation of NO₂. Furthermore, the Al@AP/CuO propellant pellet exhibited a more stable flame without agglomeration, and the condensed combustion products (CCPs) contained a lower amount of unreacted Al compared to that of conventional mixtures. These findings highlighted the potential of core–shell Al@AP and Al@AP/CuO composites as replacements for discrete ingredients of solid propellants, thereby offering improved performance for next-generation propulsion systems.