Tommy Hawkins

Hypergolic Ionic Liquids to Mill, Suspend and Ignite Boron Nanoparticles

Boron nanoparticles prepared by milling in the presence of a hypergolic energetic ionic liquid (EIL) are suspendable in the EIL and the EIL retains hypergolicity leading to the ignition of the boron. This approach allows for incorporation of a variety of nanoscale additives to improve EIL properties, such as energetic density and heat of combustion, while providing stability and safe handling of the nanomaterials.

Liquid Azide Salts and Their Reactions with Common Oxidizers IRFNA and N2O4

Several imidazolium-based ionic liquid azides with saturated and unsaturated side chains were prepared, and their physical and structural properties were investigated. The reactivity of these new as well as some previously reported ionic liquid azides with strong oxidizers, N 2O 4 and inhibited, red-fuming-nitric acid (IRFNA), was studied.

Synthesis of N-cyanoalkyl-functionalized imidazolium nitrate and dicyanamide ionic liquids with a comparison of their thermal properties for energetic applications

The synthesis of 10 N-alkyl-N-cyanoalkyl-functionalized imidazolium (N-methyl- and N-butyl-N-((CH2)nCN)imidazolium; n = 1–4) nitrate and 11 N-alkyl-N-cyanoalkyl-functionalized imidazolium (N-methyl-N-((CH2)nCN)imidazolium; n = 1–6, N-(2-cyanoethyl)-N-((CH2)nCN)imidazolium; n = 1,3–6) dicyanamide salts was achieved via N-alkylation of substituted imidazoles with commercially available haloalkylnitriles followed by anion exchange. Based on their observed melting points, all dicyanamide salts and all but one nitrate salt (1-cyanomethyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate) had melting points <100 °C, as did 13 of the 17 halide precursors also reported here. Differential scanning calorimetry data indicated that melting points decreased by increasing the N-alkyl or N-cyanoalkyl chain length or by exchanging with the dicyanamide anion, which produced the lowest melting points in comparison to analogous halide or nitrate salts. Thermogravimetric analyses indicated that thermal stability increased for longer N-cyanoalkyl substituent lengths and decreased significantly for nitrates and more so for dicyanamides bearing short-chain N-cyanoalkyl substituents (e.g., N-cyanomethyl, N-(1-cyanoethyl), and N-(2-cyanoethyl)) in comparison to halide precursors. Furthermore, for many of the N-cyanoalkyl-substituted salts (especially the dicyanamides), there was a significant production of thermally-stable char – presumably due to by-products formed from the reaction of either N-cyanoalkyl substituents, dicyanamide anion, or both, which resulted in thermally-stable polymers or cycles.

Liquid azide salts.

Ionic liquid azides from azidoethyl, alkyl, and alkenyl substituted derivatives of 1,2,4- and 1,2,3-amino-triazoles were prepared and examined for the first time to investigate their structural and physical properties. All reported salts possess melting points below 100 degrees C. The unique character of these newly discovered ionic liquid azides is based upon the fact that these molecules are not simple protonated salts like previously reported substituted hydrazinium azides. The presence of quaternary nitrogen confers both thermal stability and negligible volatility.

Tuning azolium azolate ionic liquids to promote surface interactions with titanium nanoparticles leading to increased passivation and colloidal stability.

The passivation and stability of suspensions of titanium nanoparticles in azolium azolate ionic liquids can be tuned by introducing metal specific binding sites in the azolate anion.