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Rhenium and Rhenium–Copper Nanoparticles: Evaluation of the Catalytic Activity for the Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate

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Abstract

Composites of rhenium (ReNP) and rhenium–copper nanoparticles (ReCuNP) were studied as catalysts for the decomposition of the oxidizer ammonium perchlorate (AP) for composite solid propellants. Both composites were prepared by reducing ammonium perrhenate (NH4ReO4) and copper chloride (CuCl2) in the presence of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. The PAMAM-based nanostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. ReNP@PAMAM samples showed rhenium clusters and partially oxidized spherical nanoparticles of approx. 1 nm in diameter, while ReCuNP@PAMAM comprised nanoparticles of 6 nm in average size with different shapes and high-size dispersion. The computational description demonstrated the higher stability of the interaction between copper and PAMAM than perrhenate anion due to the charge transfer from the dendrimer to the cation. The materials were evaluated for the catalytic decomposition of AP by calorimetry. The catalytic performance of ReCuNP@PAMAM was superior to that of ReNP@PAMAM, lowering the decomposition of AP at high temperatures. However, the latter composite increased the energy release drastically due to the exothermic oxidation of rhenium metal.

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Acknowledgements

M.B.C. is grateful to Fondecyt for funding this research (Project 1180023). A.M.R.R. thanks Fondecyt (Project 1230426). This research was partially supported by the supercomputing infrastructure of the NLHPC (ECM-02) and by the high-performance computing system of PIDi-UTEM (SCC-PIDi-UTEM CONICYT-FONDEQUIP-EQM180180). The authors thank Projects Fondequip EQM170087 and EQM150101, the Atomic Center of San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, especially Alfredo Tolley, and the reagent support of Molymet, Chile.

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  1. Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química y de Farmacia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 7820436, Santiago, Chile

    Paulo Preuss, Giohanny Y. Méndez, Cristóbal Hormazábal-Campos, Felipe A. Angel & María B. Camarada

  2. Centro Investigación en Nanotecnología y Materiales Avanzados, CIEN-UC, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 7820436, Santiago, Chile

    Felipe A. Angel & María B. Camarada

  3. Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar, 01145, Temuco, Chile

    Andrés M. R. Ramírez

  4. Centro de Energía, CE-UC, Pontificia, Universidad Católica de Chile, 7820436, Santiago, Chile

    Felipe A. Angel

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PP: Formal analysis, Methodology, Investigation; GM: Software, Formal analysis, Investigation; CH-C: Writing, review, and editing; AMRR: Writing, review and editing, supervision; FAA: Writing, review, and editing; MBC: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing, review and editing, Investigation, Supervision.

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Preuss, P., Méndez, G.Y., Hormazábal-Campos, C. et al. Rhenium and Rhenium–Copper Nanoparticles: Evaluation of the Catalytic Activity for the Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate. Catal Lett 154, 1970–1981 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-023-04448-2

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