Pyrotechnic Alternatives to Primary Explosive‐Based Initiators

There is an incentive to replace the heavy metal-based primary explosives with more environmentally conscious alternatives, further motivated by the inherent risk involved in handling primary explosives due to their volatile nature. The crucial roles of heavy metal-based primary explosives such as lead azide (Pb(N 3 ) 2 ) and lead styphnate (C 6 HN 3 O 8 Pb), as well as time-delay pyrotechnic compositions that contain heavy metal and/or perchlorate-based compounds makes their removal difficult. However, developments in materials processing technology and new compositions have led to alternatives to the use of primary explosives in initiators. New high-nitrogen compounds have been shown to have similar performance without the associated environmental impact and pyrotechnic compositions are another possible replacement. The most recent systems are nanocomposites that combine the energy density of the thermites with the reaction rate of the explosive. It has been demonstrated that these composite systems can undergo a rapid deflagration to detonation transition under the right circumstances.