Preparation and safety study of TKX-50/CL-20 composite explosives

CL-20, as the best comprehensive high nitrogen energetic material, plays an important role in weaponry, equipment, and national defense. TKX-50, as a new type of ionic explosive, is commonly used for composite explosives due to its excellent desensitization effect. This work combines TKX-50 and CL-20, and then encapsulates them using demulsification method. TKX-50/CL-20 composite explosives were successfully prepared at the binder dosage of only 1.5 wt.%, which showed good encapsulation effects. The results showed that the Polyvinyl butyraldehyde (PVB) and wax were successfully coated on the surface of the explosive particles, and the crystal structure of CL-20 in the composite did not change, while the excellent detonation property of ε-CL-20 is retained. Our study found that TKX-50 has a catalytic effect on the decomposition of CL-20, and when mixed alone, the activation energy of CL-20 is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the activation energy of the TKX-50/CL-20 composite explosive prepared has hardly changed compared to CL-20, and it has better thermal stability compared to TKX-50/CL-20 (1:1). The impact sensitivity and friction sensitivity of TKX-50/CL-20 composite explosives have also been significantly improved, with 2 J and 96 N higher than the TKX-50/CL-20 (1:1) raw materials, respectively, demonstrating good desensitization effect.