Development and characterization of innovative energetic composites based on nitrotriazolone and nanostructured cellulose nitrates

In response to the demands for elevated energy levels and enhanced homogeneity in propellant and explosive formulations, new energetic composites based on unmodified and modified nanostructured cellulose nitrate and 3-nitro-2,4-dihydro-3H-l,2,4-triazol-3-one (NTO) were fully scrutinized. Indeed, microcrystalline cellulose nitrate (MCCN)/NTO, and carbamated microcrystalline cellulose nitrate (M3CN)/NTO composites were elaborated using a solvent evaporation method and their characteristics were compared to those of nitrocellulose (NC)/NTO. Experimental findings highlighted that the newly developed energetic composites exhibit favorable features, including a density exceeding 1.775 g/cm³. Moreover, theoretical performance calculations using EXPLO5 version 6.02.06 indicated that the optimal composition resulted in excellent specific impulses and detonation velocities, which increased from 217.5 s and 7910 m/s for NC/NTO to 235.1 s and 8165 m/s for M3CN/NTO. Structural analyses revealed a homogeneous dispersion and embedding of NTO particles within the nitrated cellulosic matrix. In addition, thermo-kinetic results demonstrated that the activation energy of the three designed energetic composites is lower than that of pristine NTO explosive. Therefore, this investigation offers a potential fabrication approach and basic theory for the application of nanostructured cellulose nitrate in advanced high-performance energetic formulations.