Abstract

To understand the synergistic catalytic effect on the thermal degradation of Ammonium Perchlorate (AP) when the metal fragments are in the same molecule or not, we compared three reported compounds: [(Cp*)(2)Ni] (1), [(Cp*)(2)Ru] (2), and [Cp*Ni-s-Ic'-RuCp*] (3), as potential burning rate catalysts. We conducted a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis of compound (3), which showed an increase in the high-temperature decomposition (HTD) of AP to 418 degrees C and a decrease in the energy release to 938 Jg(-1). These results were compared to those of the different metallocenes, namely (1) (HTD: 434 degrees C and 1300 Jg(-1)), (2) (HTD: 361 degrees C and 1828 Jg(-1)), and the mixture of (1+2) (HTD: 354 degrees C and 2054 Jg(-1)). Our results suggest that the mixture of metallocenes is a suitable and competitive alternative to be used as an enhancer of solid composite propellants. In addition, cyclic voltammetry is used to investigate the electrochemical processes of compounds (1), (2), and (3). The electrochemically active species exhibit noteworthy oxidation peaks, revealing electronic communication between the three different compounds in the cases of (1), (2), and (3), as evidenced by the results obtained from the analysis.