Preparation and thermal decomposition of micron-sized spherical TATB

Abstract

The preparation of spherical TATB is a key and challenging research focus in the field of energetic materials. In this paper, microspherical TATB was successfully prepared by the oil-in-oil emulsion method with DMSO and BMIM as solvents for the first time. The optimal process conditions for oil-in-oil emulsions were obtained, and the morphology, structure, particle size distribution, specific surface area, and thermal decomposition performance of the spherical TATB were characterized. The results showed that the optimal process conditions for emulsion stability were as follows: the ratio of continuous to discontinuous phases was 5/5, Tween-80 was used as the surfactant, and the dosage of the TATB raw material was 1%, which could form a stable emulsion. The crystal structure of the TATB samples prepared from the stable emulsion did not change, but only the morphology was changed. The prepared TATB was microspherical with a particle size distribution D₅₀ of 17.5 μm, and the specific surface area was 1.639 m² g⁻¹. Compared with TATB, spherical TATB exhibited a unique nanostructure on its surface, which caused its thermal decomposition exothermic peak to advance by 8.5 °C and activation energy to decrease by 82.71 kJ mol⁻¹. This method is expected to provide new insights into the spherization of other insoluble explosives.