Precisely regulating combustion and ectrostatic discharge safety properties of Al/CuO nanothermite by inserting g-C3N4 nanosheet

anothermites are presenting competitive advantage potential in military and civilian applications, but high electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensitivity severely hinders their preparation, storage, and usage. Aiming to improve the safety and combustion properties of energetic materials (EMs), the two-dimensional semiconductor materials graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4 also named CN) was inserted into the Al/CuO mixture via the one-step sol-freeze-drying method. The successful preparation of samples was confirmed by morphological and chemical bond characterization. Then DFT calculation and BET tests prove that there are more active sites in reaction interface and the adsorption between Al atoms and CuO unit cells are easier due to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) functioning, thereby improving the combustion of Al/CuO but worsening ESD safety. However, the Al/CuO/CN nanocomposite containing 2.5 wt% CN has an ESD ignition threshold of 3.2 mJ and realizes maximal reaction energy and constant volume heat of combustion (Qv) of 1400.4 J·g−1 and 5896 J·g−1, respectively. As the CN content grows to 10.0 wt%, the ESD ignition threshold keeps decreasing to 8.45 mJ. Additionally, the CN shows superior advantages in regulating the combustion of Al/CuO, and the possible effect mechanism has been investigated. This work will provide a fresh strategy for extending applications of nanothermites.