Unified model of catalyzed and uncatalyzed decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

Abstract

Catalyzed and uncatalyzed thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP) has been investigated at different temperatures in the range 220-315°C for particles of different sizes. The data are fitted by the integrated form of the relation dγ/dt = aγ−bγ²/1+dγ where α denotes the fraction decomposed at time t and a, b, and d are constants. At lower temperatures dα < < 1, while at higher temperatures dα>1. The constants a, b, and d depend strongly on temperature. The energy of activation of the processes associated with a and b is 45 ± 1 kcal mol⁻¹ while that for d is 42 ± 1 kcal mol⁻¹.