Studies on impact sensitivity of nanosized trinitrotoluene (TNT) confined in silica processed by sol-gel method

Abstract Nano-sized trinitrotoluene (TNT) material restrained in silica gel has been prepared by using the sol-gel process to study the effect of varying porosity in gel on the sensitivity of TNT. The TNT content in the gel has been varied from 60 to 90 wt % (at fixed acetone/tetramethoxysilane ratio of 50). Also, for a fixed TNT content of 75 wt %, the pore structure in the gel has been varied by changing the ratio of silica gel precursor to the solvent. The resultant TNT–silica gel composites have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, small angle X-ray scattering and surface area analysis techniques. Impact sensitivity studies were carried out using Fall Hammer Impact Test. The results showed that the sensitivity of nanostructured explosives prepared by sol-gel process can be tailored precisely by controlling the process parameters.