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The surfaces of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were first pretreated with a catalyst to enable metal deposition and subsequently coated with a nanoscale layer of copper through electroless deposition. The resulting Cu-coated CNF hybrid was annealed at 250 °C to obtain CuO-coated CNFs that were ultrasonically suspended with aluminum nanoparticles (100 nm) in isopropyl alcohol to produce nanothermite colloid; where CuO coating can act as an effective oxidizer for Al nanoparticles. The developed nanothermite colloid was integrated and effectively dispersed in molten tri-nitro toluene (TNT). This novel colloid offers an increase in TNT shock wave strength of by 26% using a ballistic mortar test. Moreover it offers an increase total heat release by 75% using DSC. This is the first time ever to report on nanothermite particles supported on CNFs for highly energetic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the great impetus of nanotechnology on energetic materials is the achievement of nanothermites (metal-oxide/metal) which are characterized by massive heat output. Yet, full exploitation of super-thermites in highly energetic systems has not been achieved. This manuscript reports on the sustainable fabrication of colloidal Fe 2 O 3 and CuO nanoparticles for thermite applications. TEM micrographs demonstrated mono-dispersed Fe 2 O 3 and CuO with an average particle size of 3 and 15 nm respectively. XRD diffractograms demonstrated highly crystalline materials. SEM micrographs demonstrated a great tendency of the developed oxides to aggregate over drying process. The effective integration and dispersion of mono-dispersed colloidal thermite particles into energetic systems are vital for enhanced performance. Aluminum is of interest as highly energetic metal fuel. In this paper, synthesized Fe 2 O 3 and CuO nanoparticles were re-dispersed in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) with aluminum nanoparticles using ultrasonic prope homogenizer. The colloidal thermite peraticles can be intgegrated into highly energetic system for subsequent nanocomposite development. Thanks to stabilization of colloidal CuO nanoparticles in IPA which could offer intimate mixing between oxidizer and metal fuel. The stabilization mechanism of CuO in IPA was correlated to steric stabilization with solvent molecules. This approach eliminated nanoparticle drying and the re-dispersion of dry aggregates into energetic materials. This manuscript shaded the light on the real development of colloidal thermite mixtures and their integration into highly energetic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]