Self-assembly of 3D porous architectures from energetic nanoparticles for enhanced energetic performances

Nano-functional materials with 3D porous architectures have gained increasing importance due to their potential applications deriving from outstanding physical and chemical reaction properties. It is still a long-standing challenge to assemble organic energetic molecules and their composites into functional macroscale architectures with porous networks for practical applications. Herein, we introduce a general approach for constructing 3D architectures (sizes in dozens of millimeters) with a porous network of energetic molecules through the two-step self-assembly of energetic nanoparticles, which involves electrostatic interactions and micro-crystallization on interfaces of nanoparticles driven by an ice-template process. 3D porous architectures of several typical energetic molecules were successfully prepared to further illustrate the effectiveness of this approach. The significantly enhanced chemical reactivity induced by thermal and shock stimuli contributed to 3D architectures with hierarchical pore network. This study demonstrates the potential of the controlled preparation of organic energetic materials with 3D porous architecture, which meets a wide range of applications on optimization of physical and chemical properties.