A passive micromixer platform, with the assistance of controllable mixing performance, was used for the preparation and morphology control of ultrafine explosives. This method is characterized by high mixing efficiency, safe and easy processing, low solvent consumption, and fast preparation and screening. The preparation of hexanitrostibene (HNS) in the micromixer platform has obvious advantages over the beaker in terms of particle size and particle size distribution. The particle size of HNS prepared in the platform ranges from 91 to 255 nm, while that of the HNS prepared in a beaker ranges from 106 to 615 nm with the same antisolvent/solvent ratio. The particle size of HNS can be controlled to about 100, 150, and 200 nm, and the crystal shape can be controlled to nanoscale, two-dimensional nanosheet, and short rod crystal. This study demonstrated the feasibility of a safe and efficient way of controlling the particle size and crystal shape of explosives.

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A continuous microreaction system with an integrated passive micromixer is developed to optimize the crystal morphology and detonation behavior of AgN3.

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In this study, the technology of micro-segmented flow was applied for continuous synthesis safely and shape control accurately to lead trinitroresorcinate (LTNR) particles. Besides, a micro chemical reaction and crystallization system were built. Crystal shape control technology of LTNR and micro-segmented flow technology were first combined using the system. Additionally, the effects of the flowing rate and chemical additives on LTNR micro-particles preparation were researched for shape control. The LTNR microparticles were analyzed by XRD, DSC, laser scanning confocal microscope and laser particle size analyzer. The results shows that the LTNR particles size can be controlled from 20 to 400 mm by the flow rate and the concentration of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), while the shape of LTNR can be controlled by the concentration of glycerol and CTAB. Besides, there is a good linear relationship between the size and the activation energy. This illustrates that the LTNR particles with smaller size are more stable and have higher heat release. This study demonstrated the power of micro-segmented flow for generation of LTNR micro-particles with high quality and for tuning of particle properties.