Diaminofurazan (DAF): Thermolysis and evaluation as ballistic modifier in double base propellant

Diaminofurazan (DAF) is used as a precursor in the synthesis of many high performance insensitive high explosives. This paper reports the thermal studies on DAF and its evaluation as a ballistic modifier in double base propellant formulations. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) revealed that DAF shows two-stage decomposition, whereas the kinetics of initial stage of thermal decomposition of DAF evaluated from TG data gave activation energy (Ea) of 67 kJ mol−1. The evolution of gases containing species such as CN, NH, OH and oxides of nitrogen during thermal decomposition of DAF was also revealed by hyphenated TG–FTIR data.Evaluation of DAF as a ballistic modifier in RDX incorporated double base propellant formulations indicated that it brings down the pressure index to 0.20 compared to 0.70 for a control composition in the pressure range 6.9–8.8 MPa when used in combination with basic lead salicylate (BLS). It was observed that DAF does not have adverse effect on vulnerability and chemical stability of the propellant formulation.