The construction of hierarchical hollow Double-Shelled Co₃O₄ for the enhanced thermal decomposition of Ammonium perchlorate

Ingenious design of catalysts structure is vital for accelerating ammonium perchlorate (AP) thermal decomposition at lower temperature and accompanying with more heat release. In this work, a self-templated approach is adopted to construct hierarchical hollow double-shelled Co₃O₄ using cobalt glycerate solid spheres as precursors. The structural transformation from the solid species to the hollow double-shelled Co₃O₄ sphere is implemented by a solution growth combined with a subsequent calcination. The hierarchical hollow double-shelled morphology, large surface area and unique electronic structure endue Co₃O₄ with enhanced catalytic performance for thermal decomposition of AP. The AP decomposition temperature is decreased to 318 °C and heat release is increased from 491 J g⁻¹ to 1280 J g⁻¹.