The integration of nanoclays within polymeric systems to develop high-performance materials is an emerging research field that has garnered significant attention. In this context, an organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) is utilized as a reinforcing agent for unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) with loads of 1%, 3%, and 5 wt%. The modification of montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) using a quaternary ammonium compound is performed through an effective repetitive modification process under reflux conditions. The curing behavior of the unsaturated polyester resin containing organically modified clay catalyzed with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) initiator and promoted by cobalt naphthenate accelerator is investigated using dynamic differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) followed by kinetic analysis using isoconversional methods. The dynamic DSC curing curves showed a bimodal exothermic peak, where two independent reactions, namely, redox and thermal decomposition of the initiator occurred. In this study, novel insights into the curing reaction of the studied UPR and UPR/OMMT systems have been revealed through the application of the Trache-Abdelaziz-Siwani (TAS) and Sbirrazzuoli (VYA/CE) isoconversional methods. These methods have enabled the elucidation of the intricate mechanisms and phenomena that impact the curing reaction, including the dilution effect in the redox reaction and the diffusion phenomenon at the end of the thermal decomposition reaction. The incorporation of nanoclay into unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) resulted in a reduction in the activation energy for both the redox and thermal reactions. Specifically, the energetic barrier decreased from 93.85 and 101.58 kJ mol⁻¹ for pristine UPR to 60.71 and 72.93 kJ mol⁻¹ for UPR/OMMT-5 in the redox and thermal reactions, respectively. The addition of OMMT caused a significant decrease in the pre-exponential factor. The values of UPR/OMMT-5 were 2.75 × 10⁵ and 5.50 × 10⁶ for the redox and thermal decomposition reactions, respectively, compared to 1.41 × 10¹² and 5.13 × 10¹³ for UPR. The thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that UPR/OMMT systems were more stable than UPR.

This research aims to develop new high-energy dense ordinary- and nano-energetic composites based on hydrazine 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (HNTO) and nitrated cellulose and nanostructured nitrocellulose (NC and NMCC). The elaborated energetic formulations (HNTO/NC and HNTO/NMCC) were fully characterized in terms of their chemical compatibility, morphology, thermal stability, and energetic performance. The experimental findings implied that the designed HNTO/NC and HNTO/NMCC formulations have good compatibilities with attractive characteristics such as density greater than 1.780 g/cm³ and impact sensitivity around 6 J. Furthermore, theoretical performance calculations (EXPLO5 V6.04) displayed that the optimal composition of the as-prepared energetic composites yielded excellent specific impulses and detonation velocities, which increased from 205.7 s and 7908 m/s for HNTO/NC to 209.6 s and 8064 m/s for HNTO/NMCC. Moreover, deep insight on the multi-step kinetic behaviors of the as-prepared formulations was provided based on the measured DSC data combined with isoconversional kinetic methods. It is revealed that both energetic composites undergo three consecutive exothermic events with satisfactory activation energies in the range of 139–166 kJ/mol for HNTO/NC and 119–134 kJ/mol for HNTO/NMCC. Overall, this research displayed that the new developed nanoenergetic composite based on nitrated cellulose nanostructure could serve as a promising candidate for practical applications in solid rocket propellants and composite explosives.

This research work aimed to elaborate on a new modified double-base propellant containing nitrocellulose (NC), ammonium nitrate (AN), and diethylene glycol dinitrate (DEGDN). The developed AN/NC-DEGDN formulation was successfully obtained through a casting process and fully characterized in terms of its chemical structure, morphological features, and thermal behavior. Beforehand, theoretical calculation by the CEA-NASA program was applied to select the optimal composition of the formulation. Experimental findings demonstrated the homogenous dispersion of AN oxidizer in the NC-DEGDN matrix without alteration of their molecular structures. The catalytic influence of AN on the thermal decomposition behavior of NC-DEGDN film was also elucidated by thermal analyses. When AN was incorporated into the formulation, the decomposition peak temperatures for the different decomposition processes were shifted toward lower temperatures, while the total enthalpy of decomposition increased by around 1272.24 J/g. In addition, the kinetics of the thermal decomposition of the developed modified double base propellant were investigated using DSC results coupled with model kinetic approaches. It was found that the addition of AN decreases the activation energy of nitrate esters from 134.5 kJ/mol to 118.84 kJ/mol, providing evidence for its excellent catalytic effect. Overall, this investigation could serve as a reference for developing future generation of modified double-base propellants.