(612f) Effect of Metal-Based Catalysts on Ignition and Combustion of Boron

There is considerable interest in improving boron ignition and combustion because of its high energy density and potential use as an additive in explosives and propellants. Previous work done by pre-treating amorphous boron with acetonitrile and other hydro-carbons prove that dissolution of the naturally occurring, and inhibiting hydroxide/oxide layer reduces ignition delay. However, combustion times and temperatures remain unaffected for the micron-sized agglomerates. Flame temperature measurements suggest that boron is far from its boiling point and thus the so-called full-fledged combustion is rate limited by heterogeneous processes on the surface of burning particles. In order to increase the rate of combustion reaction on the surface of a burning boron particle, this work focuses on the preparation of boron doped with catalytic additives. The additives are transition metals such as iron, nickel, and manganese, which are readily oxidized and reduced and provide kinetic pathways to assist the boron oxidation reaction. The dopants are introduced by mechanical milling, dry powder coating, and coating with organic salts to create composites with varying quantities of catalysts. The materials are characterized and combustion experiments are conducted to determine their combustion characteristics. The findings from the experiments will be discussed in detail.