Effect of Impurity Doping on the Morphology of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate Crystals

Pitchimani, Rajasekar; Hope‐Weeks, Louisa J.; Zhang, G.; Weeks, Brandon L.

doi:10.1080/07370650701567033

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Figure 3 shows the AFM images of the PETN films with Zn doping concentration of 10,000 ppm showing a rougher surface. After annealing at higher temperature, all the surfaces become smooth regardless of dopant concentration consistent with previous studies (Pitchimani et al 2007b). Although the causes behind the changes in surface roughness is not known it is possible that the surface diffusion, migration of voids or solvent inclusion and sublimation may lead to annealing of the surface.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 77%

“…A small amount of nitro compound, such as mono-, di-, and trinitrobenzenes, result in decrease in stability at elevated temperatures (Bourjol 1953;Urbanski et al 1935), whereas the addition of small amount of urea stabilizes PETN (WestfalischAnhaltische Sprengstoff 1940). Among the metal ions, Zn was found to be an ideal impurity which when added in a small amount does not change the crystal structure or interact with PETN but changes the surface morphology, evaporation rate, and activation energy (Pitchimani et al 2007b; Pitchimani et al 2007c). In the present study, we have investigated the effect of Zn ion doping concentrations on sublimation rates and activation energy of evaporation of PETN thin films using AFM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Rogers and Dinegar (1972) determined the heat of fusion and activation energy of PETN by scanning calorimetry and discussed the effect of various impurities on the system. Pitchimani et al (2007b) studied in detail the effect of doping of various metal ions in PETN single crystals. They showed by optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) that Fe, Na, and Ca ion-doped PETN crystals have similar surface morphology and activation energy to that of pure PETN, whereas the Zn ion can significantly change the surface morphology and activation energy of PETN.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Zn doping on the sublimation rate of pentaerythritol tetranitrate using atomic force microscopy

Mridha

Weeks

2009

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A series of Zn ion-doped pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) nanoislands in the form of thin films were prepared on Si substrates using spin coating. The effect of Zn concentrations on the sublimation energy was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The pure and Zn-doped nanoislands are imaged by AFM in contact mode at room temperature after annealing isothermally for a given time. The volume of the islands starts to decrease after annealing at 45 degrees C for pure PETN, whereas Zn-doped nanoislands start to decrease in height and volume after annealing at 55-58 degrees C. The minimum activation energy is found to be 29.7 Kcal/mol for 1,000 ppm Zn concentration. These studies are important for the long-term stabilization of PETN.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Zn doping on the sublimation rate of pentaerythritol tetranitrate using atomic force microscopy

Mridha

Weeks

2009

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“…Pitchmani et al [17] reported the changes in morphology of PETN crystals doped with the ions of iron, calcium, sodium and zinc, and the annealing effect on morphology at macro and microscopic levels to determine how the ions modified the crystals. However, in that study, only one parameter (surface roughness) under various annealing temperatures was used to characterize the stability of the crystals, which just provides qualitative evidence.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effect of zinc doping on pentaerythritol tetranitrate single crystals

Zhang

Bhattacharia

Weeks

2010

Cryst. Res. Technol.

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In this study, the effect of zinc impurity on the organic high explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) single crystal has been investigated with optical microscopy and ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). The optical images show that the crystal shape has a transition with a predictable trend from long crystal to compact one as the zinc concentration is increased. Also, the 2-dimentional (2-D) growth hillocks are observed clearly on (110) face with contact AFM. The crystal growth occurs on monomolecular steps generated by 2-D nucleation and followed by layer-by-layer expansion, and the macro-steps formed onto the surface before spreading laterally as step bunches. The zinc ions are incorporated in growth steps as the zinc concentration is increased. The mechanism of inorganic impurity on molecular crystallization growth is still unclear. However, the incorporation of impurities may significantly affect growth kinetics of defect structure, and the bulk properties of molecular crystals.

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“…15 Polished Si ͑100͒ substrates were cut into 1 ϫ 1 cm 2 pieces and immersed in a Piranha solution under agitation at 90°C for 30 min ͓"piranha" solution is 3:1 ͑V/V͒, 98% H 2 SO 4 / 30% H 2 O 2 and reacts violently with many organic materials and should be handled with great care͔. The PETN powder from Livermore National Laboratory, with a purity Ͼ99%, is used in the present experiments without further purification.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%