Metastable intermolecular composites of Al and CuO nanoparticles assembled with graphene quantum dots

Metastable intermolecular composites (MICs) have attracted great attention during the last two decades owing to their potential applications for both civilian and military purposes.

Density functional theory study of high-energy metal (Al, Mg, Ti, and Zr)/CuO composites

We investigated the geometric and electronic structures and stability of high-energy metal metastable intermolecular composites (Al, Mg, Ti, and Zr)/CuO(111) between metal layers and a CuO(111) substrate by density functional theory.

Oxidation Dynamics of Aluminum Nanorods

ABSTRACTUnderstanding of combustion of metastable intermolecular composites, including the burning of aluminum nanoparticles, is critical for broad applications such as propulsion, explosives and other pyrotechnics. Aluminum nanorods (Al-NR) with oxidized shells are good candidates for stable fuel-oxidizer combinations. We investigate the oxidation dynamics of Al-NRs of different diameters (26, 36 and 46 nm) but the same aspect ratio using molecular dynamics simulations. We heat one end of the Al-NR to 1100 K and then study the oxidation reaction at the interface of the alumina shell and the Al core. We find: (1) heat produced by oxidation causes the melting of nanorods; (2) heat release is accelerated due to Al-O reaction at outside-shell and core-shell interfaces; and (3) the larger surface-to-volume ratio causes faster burning of thinner nanorods. We present results for the oxidation speed of nanorods.