With an increasing interest in finding green alternatives for toxic propellants used for in-space propulsion applications, energetic ionic liquids (EILs) have gained more attention in recent years for their extremely low vapor pressure and energetic qualities. In this study, infrared spectroscopy techniques and thermogravimetric analysis are employed to further characterize the reactivity of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanoborohydride (BMIM+DCBH-) in comparison to 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (BMIM+DCA-). A rapid scan Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was used to take numerous spectra throughout the hypergolic reaction of BMIM+DCBH- and BMIM+DCA-with white fuming nitric acid (WFNA) and during thermal decomposition of these EILs to track the appearance and disappearance of potential key components in the reaction and decomposition mechanisms. Computational chemistry efforts were paired with the experimental results to propose key kinetic pathways leading to the ignition of these combinations. Results show BMIM+DCBH- to have a particularly low heat of vaporization compared to other EILs and some particular key intermediates leading to ignition with WFNA that differ from those seen for BMIM+DCA-.

Infrared spectroscopy studies of the hypergolic reaction and decomposition of a dicyanoborohydride ionic liquid

255th National Meeting (2018)

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