Aloe vera leaf extract-assisted facile green synthesis of amorphous Fe2O3 for catalytic thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

• Published in: Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry 2020, Vol.139 (1), p.89-99
• Main Authors: Chandrababu, Parvathy, Cheriyan, Suchithra, Raghavan, Rajeev
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aloe; Ammonium perchlorates; Analytical Chemistry; Atomic force microscopy; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Decomposition; Differential scanning calorimetry; Electron microscopy; Emission analysis; Ferric nitrate; Field emission microscopy; Fourier transforms; High temperature; Inorganic Chemistry; Iron oxides; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Microscopy; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Sol-gel processes; Surface area; Thermal decomposition; Thermogravimetry; X ray powder diffraction
• ISSN: 1388-6150; 1588-2926
• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-019-08376-5

Fe 2 O 3 is a well-known catalyst for thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP). Amorphous Fe 2 O 3 nanoflakes were biosynthesised by a novel sol–gel method using Aloe vera leaf extract, and its catalytic effect on thermal decomposition of AP was investigated. The precursor ferric nitrate–Aloe vera gel was calcined at three different temperatures. The oxides were characterised by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, atomic force microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Microscopy analyses revealed that Fe 2 O 3 -250 consists of a porous structure as aggregates of many nanoflakes of ~ 2 nm diameter. The catalytic activity of the synthesised products on thermal decomposition of AP was evaluated using thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry. The presence of 2.0% of mesoporous Fe 2 O 3 -250 catalyst (surface area of 208 m 2  g −1 ) enhanced the rate of high-temperature decomposition of AP by decreasing the peak decomposition temperature from 367 to 337 °C. Average activation energy of thermal decomposition of AP was calculated using Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method reduced from 145 to 128 kJ mol −1 in the presence of the catalyst. The high surface area of mesoporous Fe 2 O 3 -250 originated from its amorphous nature makes it a potential catalyst for thermal decomposition of AP. Graphical abstract