Combustion ammonium dinitramide

T.B. Brill, P.J. Brush, D.G. Patil Sensitivity and Performance Characterization of Ammonium Dinitramide, Combust. Flame,92(1993), 178. 

Freeman, J. M., and Sigman, R. K., Combustion of Propellants with Ammonium Dinitramide, AIAA-98-3387, AIAA, Re-ston, Virginia (1998). 

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN), NH4N(N02)2, is being considered as a possible replacement for aluminum chloride as the oxidizer in the solid fuel booster rockets used to launch the space shuttle. When detonated by a spark, ADN rapidly decomposes to produce a gaseous mixture of N2, O2, and H2O. (This is not a combustion reaction. The ADN is the only reactant.) The reaction releases a lot of heat, so the gases are initially formed at high temperature and pressure. The thrust of the rocket results mainly from the expansion of this gas mixture. 

N-guanylurea dinitramide (commonly known as FOX-12) has low sensitivity and is an excellent candidate for insensitive munitions [72]. It is neither hygroscopic nor soluble in water. Its thermal stability is comparable to RDX and superior to that of ADN. The substitution of ammonium in dinitramide by an organic cation results in the change of combustion temperature and reactivity of the fuel. 

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