Nanoporous Silicon As a Novel Fuel

Nanoscale and nanostructured energetic materials are enabling technologies for defense applications.  Many current and future requirements cannot be achieved using more conventional materials.  A way to overcome the natural barriers to performance, or other undesired material characteristics, is by exploiting the “tunable” nature of these novel materials.  Altering the constituents, particle or grain size, surface area and surface characteristics allows one to adjust the energy output, light output, strength of materials, and sensitivity to various stimuli.

Nanoporous silicon is being explored as a novel fuel to replace aluminum and magnesium in energetic formulations for a variety of reasons such as reduction in sensitivity, increased performance, and improved aging characteristics of the material.  Additionally, hybrid formulations with silicon and other novel materials will be able to potentially replace legacy materials such lead azide and lead styphnate, thus reducing the environmental impact, and lifecycle cost, of munitions that contain these materials.