In this present article, we reported a facile and efficient milling method to prepare a series of CuO/PbO nanocomposite metal oxides (CuO/PbO NMOs), with CuO/PbO molar ratios of 1:2, 1:1, 1:0.5, and 1:0.25 as a potential catalyst to catalyze the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP). The obtained CuO/PbO NMOs were systematically characterized. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses showed that the characteristic peaks of CuO/PbO NMOs were almost the superposition of nano CuO and nano PbO, while few new weak peaks were observed resulting from the lattice defects and new structural arrangements and chemical bonds between nano CuO and nano PbO during a high-energy grinding process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transition electron microscopy (TEM) observations exhibited that the particle sizes of the CuO/PbO NMOs were distributed in the range of 10–20 nm. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis coupled with differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) techniques verified that CuO/PbO NMOs with a CuO/PbO molar ratio of 1:1 presented the best catalytic effect for AP thermal decomposition among the other CuO/PbO NMOs, as well as the single nano CuO and nano PbO. The outstanding catalytic performance is mainly reflected as follows: shifting the peak temperature of AP in high-temperature decomposition stages from 441.3 to 347.6 °C, increasing the decomposition heat of AP from 941 to 1711 J/g, and decreasing the Gibbs free energy of AP from 199.8 to 172.1 kJ/mol, supporting the existence of a synergistic catalytic effect between nano CuO and nano PbO.

In this article, nano-CuCr₂O₄ (copper chromite)/ultrafine ammonium perchlorate (AP) composites were prepared by a ultrasonic dispersion method and a mechanical grinding method. A series of nano-CuCr₂O₄/ultrafine AP composites with different dispersions were prepared by controlling the compounding time to study the best catalytic effect of nano-CuCr₂O₄ on the ultrafine AP. The microstructures, surface elements, and morphologies of samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy. The catalytic effect of nano-CuCr₂O₄ on the thermal decomposition of AP was investigated by differential scanning calorimetric techniques and thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicated that the mechanical ball milling method could make nano-CuCr₂O₄ more evenly dispersed on the ultrafine AP, and with the increase in the milling time, the uniformity of nano-CuCr₂O₄ on the ultrafine AP was better. When the milling time was 6–12 h, nano-CuCr₂O₄ was most evenly dispersed on the ultrafine AP. At this time, the decomposition temperature and Gibbs free energy of the nano-CuCr₂O₄/ultrafine AP composite were the lowest, which decreased by 78.1 °C and 25.16 kJ/mol compared with those of ultrafine AP, respectively. Moreover, the mechanical sensitivity of nano-CuCr₂O₄/ultrafine AP composites was lower than that of ultrafine AP. It showed that ball milling for 6–12 h could make nano-CuCr₂O₄ evenly dispersed on the ultrafine AP, and nano-CuCr₂O₄ could play the best catalytic effect on the ultrafine AP.

In this article, a series of nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides (nano CuO/Fe₂O₃), with different molar ratios of CuO/Fe₂O₃ (1:2, 1:1, 1:0.5, 1:0.25), were prepared in large-scale by mechanical grinding. The microstructures, surface elements and morphologies of samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalytic effects of nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) were investigated by thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) techniques. The results show that nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides with the molar ratio of CuO/Fe₂O₃ = 1:2 have the best catalytic effect for AP thermal decomposition as compared to the other nano-Cu-Fe composite metal oxides, the single nano CuO, and nano Fe₂O₃. Also, the results show that the decomposition temperature of AP has fallen from 441.3°C to 355.3°C, whereas the decomposition heat has risen from 941 to 1749 J/g, which supports the existence of a synergistic effect between CuO and Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles.

In this work, nano-sized CuO prepared by mechanical grinding method was applied to the AP-CMDB propellant. The catalytic activity of nano-sized CuO on AP-CMDB propellant was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetric techniques. The combustion rates at atmospheric pressure of AP-CMDB propellant modified by nano-sized CuO were measured by strand burner method. The experimental results show enhancements on the thermal decomposition and combustion of AP-CMDB propellant in the presence of nano-sized CuO. Compared with blank propellant, the thermal decomposition temperature of AP-CMDB propellant shifts downward. Simultaneously, the combustion rate of AP-CMDB propellant at atmospheric pressure increases by about 22.2%. Encouragingly, the catalytic activity of nano-sized CuO on AP-CMDB propellant is superior to that of the bulk CuO, which leads to a potential application of nano-sized CuO in the AP-CMDB propellant.