Environmentally-Benign Oxidizers for Propulsion

Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is the most commonly used oxidizing ingredient in solid propellant formulations. It carries a sufficient excess of oxygen to allow for the combustion of the required binder and added metal, such as aluminum. The major drawback of AP is its chlorine content which results in the formation of large amounts of HCl as a combustion product and causes severe environmental problems. It is therefore desirable to find a halogen-free replacement for AP. The goal of this proposal is the identification, synthesis and characterization of novel compounds which can provide equal amounts or an excess of oxygen compared to AP, result in similar or better performance than AP, have high densities, good thermal and hydrolytic stability, and eliminate the formation of undesirable halogen or other compounds which might be of damage to the environment or could cause ozone depletion.