Hydrothermal synthesis of morphology controllable Cu2O and their catalysis in thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

•Cu2O with different morphologies were synthesized through hydrothermal method.•Catalytic activity of Cu2O cubes for thermal decomposition of AP was investigated.•Cu2O cubes exhibit preferable activity in AP decomposition than other structures.

Cu2O micro-crystals with different morphologies (including three branching structures) were synthesized through hydrothermal method by using sodium tartrate as chelating reagent. Branching growth patterns of Cu2O microcrystals have a strong dependence on the amount of sodium tartrate. These different Cu2O microcrystals were used as catalysts to promote the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP). The thermal decomposition of AP in the presence or absence of Cu2O micro-crystals was investigated non-isothermally through thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The data obtained from DSC were applied for the calculation and comparison of the kinetic parameters of AP decomposition process through a model-free approach.

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