Stabilisers are used in propellants to prevent the various effects such as oxidation, chain scission, energy loss and uncontrolled heat generation that are caused by homolytic and heterolytic cleavage of the weakest Nitrogen‐Oxygen bond of the nitrate ester functional group. Conventional stabilisers for nitrocellulose‐based propellants belong to a‐aromatic amines (e. g., diphenylamine, 4‐nitro‐N‐methylaniline…) or b‐aromatic urea derivatives (e. g., Akardite, centralite…) and are/or produce highly toxic and/or potentially carcinogenic species at some point during a propellant's lifetime. There is an obvious need for alternative stabilisers presenting a low toxicity profile and providing efficiencies similar to, or better than conventional stabilisers. This paper presents novel, environmentally friendly, efficient and readily‐available stabilisers for use in nitrocellulose‐based compositions. With REACh legislation (1907/2006), industry in Europe has made progress in using less toxic compounds, that are often more environmentally‐friendly. The aim of this work is to go beyond REACh and to anticipate the inclusion of other molecules that produce non‐ or less toxic daughter products and that can fulfil their role in the propellant's formulation.

The inside back cover picture shows the mechanisms of degradation of nitrocellulose (the macromolecule at the top of the illustration), by hydrolysis and homololysis, therefore giving an indication as to the actions of the various stabilisers that we patented. The magnifying glass shows the labile nitrate ester group giving rise to these degradation pathways. An efficient stabiliser is therefore mandatory for the stability of the nitrocellulose. If the nitrocellulose degradation is not controlled, this can lead to autocatalysis and heat generation giving rise to safety issues. However, with our ‘green’ stabilisers, the reactions are efficiently contained and the lifetimes of nitrocellulose‐based propellants or combustible objects are significantly extended. Details are discussed in the article by Alain Dejeaifve et al. on page 831 ff.