Reaction mechanism of Al-CuO nanothermites with addition of multilayer graphene

Abstract Reactions of nanothermites is complex, and the heterogeneous reaction poorly understood. In this study Al-CuO-multilayer graphene (MLG) composites were studied to explore the effects of MLG on the reaction properties, products composition and reaction mechanism of Al-CuO nanothermites. The morphology composition of Al-CuO-MLG composites before and after reaction was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). And detailed reaction pathways were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimeter (TG-DSC) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results indicate that the presence of MLG between nano-Al and nano-CuO particles tunes and improves reaction characteristics. A total heat of reaction of the Al-CuO-MLG (1 wt%) composites is 1679 J /g, increased by ∼87.5 J /g compared to that of Al-CuO composites.