Synergetic effect of nano and micro titanium dioxide on the thermal decomposition behavior and chemical stability of nitrocellulose

• Published in: Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry 2023-07, Vol.148 (14), p.6909-6925
• Main Authors: Touidjine, Sabri, Boulkadid, Moulai Karim, Trache, Djalal, Louafi, Elamine, Akbi, Hamdane, Belkhiri, Samir, Kadri, Djamel Eddine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Analytical Chemistry; Anatase; Calorimetry; Cellulose esters; Cellulose nitrate; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Corrosion resistance; Decomposition; Explosives; Hydrofluorocarbons; Inorganic Chemistry; Kinetics; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Metal oxides; Microparticles; Nanoparticles; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Stability tests; Thermal decomposition; Thermal stability; Titanium; Titanium dioxide; Titanium oxides
• ISSN: 1388-6150; 1588-2926
• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-023-12185-2

This investigation concerns the determination of the synergetic influence of nanosized titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) on the thermal decomposition kinetics and the chemical stability of nitrocellulose. Commercial anatase titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) with a size of 32 nm were combined with nitrocellulose (NC) to form NC-based composite. The thermal decomposition kinetics of the NC-based composite were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) associated with different isoconversional kinetic approaches, namely iterative Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (It-KAS), iterative Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (It-FWO) and Vyazovkin’s nonlinear integral with compensation effect (VYA/CE) methods. The effect of TiO 2 NPs on the chemical stability of NC was studied using qualitative stability tests (methyl-violet and Abel tests) and quantitative stability tests (Bergmann-Junk test (BJ) and Vacuum Stability Test (VST)). Also, stability tests based on microcalorimetric measurement (HFC) were carried out. By way of comparison and in order to highlight the effect of size, a similar study taking up all the different experimental steps mentioned above was carried out and using commercial titanium oxide having a microscopic size. The results of the thermal kinetic investigation demonstrated an enhancement in the thermal stability of nitrocellulose with the addition of nano- and microparticles of titanium dioxide. The results of the stability tests indicate an improvement of the chemical stability of the pristine NC after the addition of TiO 2 NPs. In addition, the nanoscale metal oxides showed a better stabilizing effect than the microsized metal oxides.