Nanoporous silicon explosive devices

The explosive properties of porous silicon, impregnated with an oxidant, were researched. A structural model was used to extract the pore and crystallite dimensions from gravimetric measurements, as well as the specific surface area and porosity. The properties of three different oxidants were investigated. It was found that there is an optimum pore size for the most energetic explosion. It was also demonstrated that the nano-explosion could be initiated within 100 μs using NaClO4 as oxidant and a thin film aluminium fuse as heating element.