New Energetic Solid Propellant Ingredients

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI), and its team members, propose to synthesize and characterize a new energetic furoxan oxidizer with high energy and low sensitivity. PSI has teamed with Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Energetic Materials Center and Aerojet Corp., Energetic Materials Group on the proposed program. The targeted furoxan properties include; constant-volume combustion energy ( 9734 J/g), and standard enthalpy of formation (657 kJ/mol). Other furoxan properties include; density (1.937 g/cc), detonation velocity (9250 m/s), and decomposition point (292 degrees C). The proposed team has developed a synthetic scheme to produce the molecule in four synthetic steps, designed by PSI and LLNL. PSI will proposes to produce 6.5 grams after the first three steps. LLNL will optimize the final synthetic step to produce the furoxan. Aerojet and LLNL will provide characterization of this promising furoxan properties as a highly energetic material with low sensitivity. On a potential Phase II program, PSI and its team members will investigate similar chemistries within this furoxan class. The most promising energetic material will be scaled up for enhanced testing and characterization.