Sol-gel processing of energetic materials

As part of a new materials effort, we are exploring the use of sol- gel chemistry to manufacture energetic materials. Traditional manufacturing of energetic materials involves processing of granular solids. One application is the production of detonators where powders of energetic material and a binder are typically mixed and compacted at high pressure to make pellets. Performance properties are strongly dependent on particle size distribution, surface area of its constituents, homogeneity of the mix, and void volume. The goal is to produce detonators with fast energy release rate the are insensitive to unintended initiation. In this paper, we report results of our early work in this field of research, including the preparation of detonators from xerogel molding powders and aerogels, comparing the material properties with present state-of-the-art technology.