The more apparent
specific heat release at a lower high-temperature
decomposition (HTD) temperature of ammonium perchlorate (AP) poses
a challenge for the development of highly active catalysts. In this
work, a well-designed cobalt-embedded N-doped porous graphitized carbon
(Co@NC) catalyst is obtained by high-temperature calcination of a
zeolite imidazolate frameworks-67 precursor, in which the cobalt catalytic
active center realizes effective nanoscale dispersion; meanwhile,
the cobalt and N-doped porous graphitized carbon can release considerable
heat after oxidation, and the cobalt oxides have an excellent catalytic
effect on reducing the HTD temperature of AP. The catalytic activity
of Co@NC was tested by a differential thermal analytical method. The
results indicated that the HTD peak of AP was significantly decreased
by 100.5 °C, the apparent activation energy of the HTD reaction
of AP was reduced by 82.0 kJ mol–1, and the heat
release compared with pure AP increased 2.9 times. On teh basis of
these findings, Co@NC is expected to be one of the best candidate
materials for AP thermal decomposition.