Farrow-derived layered porous carbon aerogel for AP catalytic thermal decomposition

Abstract

We have successfully developed a new and benign environmental catalyst that is important for the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP). We have extracted natural fibers from waste palm bamboo leaves, mixed them with 2-methylimidazole cobalt salt (ZIF-67) to prepare a ZIF-67/cellulose aerogel, and then prepared a ZIF-based porous carbon aerogel (Co/CCA) through one-step carbonization. As the temperature in the carbonization stage increases, the ZIF-67/cellulose aerogel transformed into a carbon aerogel. Co/CCA can improve the agglomeration and uneven distribution of ZIF-67. Moreover, based on SEM and TEM, Co/CCA maintained a 3D network structure after carbonization, the distribution of ZIF-67 after carbonization was uniform, and its carbon skeleton was retained to a certain extent, showing a rough and porous polyhedron shape with a small amount of Co nanoparticles distributed around the edges of the polyhedron. The effect of Co/CCA on the thermal decomposition of AP was also studied. The results show that when Co/CCA (5 wt%) was added, the pyrolysis temperature of AP decreased by 115.2 °C, and its decomposition activation energy decreased from 215.9 kJ mol⁻¹ to 91.1 kJ mol⁻¹.