Nanoenergetic Composites of CuO Nanorods, Nanowires, and Al‐Nanoparticles

Abstract This paper reports on the synthesis of the nanoenergetic composites containing CuO nanorods and nanowires, and Al‐nanoparticles. Nanorods and nanowires were synthesized using poly(ethylene glycol) templating method and combined with Al‐nanoparticles using ultrasonic mixing and self‐assembly methods. Poly(4‐vinylpyridine) was used for the self‐assembly of Al‐nanoparticles around the nanorods. At the optimized values of equivalence ratio, sonication time, and Al‐particle size, the combustion wave speed of 1650 m s −1 was obtained for the nanorods‐based energetics. For the composite of nanowires and Al‐nanoparticles the speed was increased to 1900 m s −1 . The maximum combustion wave speed of 2400 m s −1 was achieved for the self‐assembled composite, which is the highest known so far among the nanoenergetic materials. It is possible that in the self‐assembled composites, the interfacial contact between the oxidizer and fuel is higher and resistance to overall diffusional process is lower, thus enhancing the performance.