Nanomaterials in Pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics consist of metallic powders as fuels and different oxidisers which generally have particle size of > 5 m. The use of nano materials is expected to increase intimate contact between fuel oxidiser, and therefore, development of nano pyrotechnics based on nano fuels oxidizers along with their synthetic routes is considered of great interest. In this review, methodsfor the preparation of powders of nanometals: aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), titanium(Ti), iron (Fe), silver (Ag), and cobalt (Co) and; metallic oxides: molybdenum trioxide (MoO3),tungsten trioxide (WO3), iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3), copper (I) oxide (Cu2O), antimony trioxide (Sb2O3),nickel oxide (NiO), manganese dioxide (MnO2), and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) along with theircharacterisation are discussed. Some nano oxidisers such as PbCO3, Mg(OH)2 , NH4ClO4, NH4NO3have also been reported. Further, some nano pyrotechnic formulations Al-MO3, Al-WO3, Al-Fe2O3, Al-AP, Al-Bi2O3, Al-CaO based on nanofuels oxidisers have also been formulated.Defence Science Journal, 2008, 58(4), pp.486-495, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.58.166