A graphene oxide–MgWO4 nanocomposite as an efficient catalyst for the thermal decomposition of RDX, HMX

Abstract

A GO–MgWO₄ nanocomposite was prepared by a facile chemical method and characterized by XRD, IR, SEM, TEM, EDS and XPS. The catalytic action of nano-MgWO₄, nano-GO, and the GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 1) nanocomposite, GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 3) nanocomposite, GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 5) nanocomposite on the thermal decomposition of RDX and HMX were studied by DSC method. The results showed that the GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 1), GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 3) and GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 5) nanocomposites exhibit better catalytic activity than their individual monocomponents. The GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 5) nanocomposite possesses the best catalytic action among them. The decomposition temperature and the apparent activation of RDX were reduced by 28.7 °C and 43.4 kJ mol⁻¹, and the decomposition temperature and the apparent activation of HMX were reduced by 10.5 °C and 56.4 kJ mol⁻¹ in the presence of GO–MgWO₄ (1 : 5), respectively.