Kinetic Study on Catalytic Combustion of DMAZ over Ir/γ-Al₂O₃

Abstract

2-Dimethylaminoethylazide (DMAZ), as a liquid monopropellant, is a good replacement for hydrazine in space programs. Catalytic combustion of DMAZ over Ir/γ-Al₂O₃ leads to propulsion force in a satellite for orbit adjustment. Little information has been published for catalytic combustion of DMAZ. In this article, the catalyst was synthesized, characterized, and tested in a temperature range of 373–473 K. The results showed that a loading of about 34% of Ir on γ-Al₂O₃ is suitable for this purpose. Furthermore, the combustion reaction was studied kinetically in a fixed-bed, continuous-flow micro reactor under the specified temperature range and 100–450 mL/min volume flow rates of DMAZ vapor. Accordingly, a rate model was suggested. The reaction kinetic was first-order with activation energy of 19.3 kJ/mol. There was good agreement between conversion data from the model and the experimental results.

Keywords:

• Catalytic combustion
• DMAZ
• Kinetics
• Monopropellant

Notes

Conditions: total amount of catalyst = 1g, T = 463 K, ν _o  = 275 mL/min.