3,137,599 United States Patent Office Patented June 16, 1964 2 3,137,599 unsaturated hydrocarbon polymer in the presence of a POLYSLANE ROCKET PROPELLANTS free radical generator such as organic peroxides or under Richard W. Aisgaard, Henry N. Beck, and Edwin P. the influence of ionizing radiation or in the presence of Plueddemann, Midland, Mich., assigors to Dow a platinum catalyst such as chloroplatinic acid or platinum Corning Corporation, Midland, Mich., a corporation of dispersed on charcoal. Any of these catalysts will, upon Michigan the application of heat, cause addition of the SiH groups No Drawing. Fied Oct. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 64,953 to the C=C bond, thereby inducing gelation of the mix 2 Claims. (C. 149-19) ture and bonding the entire mass, including the oxidizer, into a unitary whole. This invention relates to the use of polysilanes as fuels 10 It should be understood, of course, that the silane alone in rocket propellants. can serve as the bonding agent for the oxidizer. This invention particularly relates to the art of solid It should be understood that the silanes of this inven propellants. It has long been known that with the present tion can be used to either improve the performance of ly known rocket propellants liquid fuels deliver more presently employed solid fuels, such as organic resin thrust per pound of fuel than solid propellants. On the 5 polymers, either alone or in admixture with oxidizable other hand, it is well known that solid fuels require a metals, such as aluminum, or the silanes can be used simpler vehicle than do the liquid fuels. Thus, the cost alone with the oxidizer to produce superior propellants. of a rocket employing a solid propellant is far less than For the purpose of this invention the oxidizer can be that requiring a liquid propellant and the reliability of the any of the standard oxidizing agents employed in solid vehicle employing a solid propellant should be much 20 rocket propellants. Specific examples of such oxidizers better. are perchlorates such as ammonium perchlorate, lithium In spite of the advantages of solid propellants, they perchlorate, sodium perchlorate, magnesium perchlo have suffered from the defect of relatively poor thrust. rate, hydrazine perchlorate, or nitronium perchlorate Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to (NOClO4), or nitrates such as ammonium nitrate and provide solid rocket fuels giving superior thrust so that 25 the like. The preferred oxidizers are the salts of nitric some of the advantages of a liquid fuel can be realized acid and the salts and coordination complexes of per with a solid fuel. Other objects and advantages will be chloric acid. apparent from the following description. Specific examples of polysilanes, which can be em This invention relates to a rocket propellant compris ployed herein are ing a mixture of from 60-90% by weight of an oxidizer 30 and from 10-40% by weight of a fuel comprising at least Me Me... 5% by weight based on the weight of the fuel of a poly (MeSi), MeSi (Si)60SiMe3, MeHaSi(Si)10SiH:Me Me EI silane of the formula MeSi (Sp SiMe2E, (MeSi)1000, MelSi $2 coSiMead R e R3Si(Si) SiR3 35 and or (R'Si)y in which R is of the group methyl radicals H and hydrogen, at least one R per silicon being methyl, x MeHSi(Si)40SiHMe is an integer of at least 1, R’ is of the group methyl radicals The polysilanes of this invention can be employed with or hydrogen, R' is of the group methyl radicals or hydro any other solid fuel such as, for example, oxidizable gen, at least one R' per silicon being methyl, and y is an 40 metals such as magnesium, aluminum, or lithium; metal integer of at least 4. hydrides such as magnesium hydride, lithium aluminum The propellants of this invention are prepared by mix hydride and lithium hydride; hydrocarbons such as poly ing the oxidizer and the fuel in any desired manner and butadiene and copolymers of polybutadiene and styrene, forming them into the desired shape. For the purpose and other organic resins such as polyurethanes, hydrocar of this invention the propellant can consist entirely of the 45 bon polysulphides, polyesters and polyepoxide resins. oxidizer and one or more of the defined polysilanes. In Because of the high burning rate of the polysilanes of such a case the polysilane is present in amount of from this invention, they are particularly adaptable for use with 10-40% by weight based on the weight of the propellant. metal fuels such as Al. This is true because the poly On the other hand the fuel can be composed of one or silane allows optimum amounts of aluminum to be em more of the defined polysilanes in combination with any ployed. suitable solid rocket fuel. For example, the fuel can be In addition to the above ingredients, the propellants of a mixture of a polysilane and a hydrocarbon polymer such this invention can contain minor additives such as cata as polybutadiene. When the fuel is a mixture of two or lysts to aid in curing the polysilane or the mixture of poly more components, then the polysilane must be present silane and organic resin. The propellants can also con in amount of at least 5% by weight based on the total tain adhesives and stabilizers such as are normally em weight of the fuel. ployed in rocket propellants. w For the purpose of this invention the physical state of The abbreviation "Me' is employed herein for the the silane is not critical although it is highly preferable methyl radical. that the silane be in the form of a fluid or waxy, soluble The following examples are illustrative only and are material which can be molded into the desired shape and 60 which, when molded, will bond the oxidizer into a unitary not to be construed as limiting the invention which is de mass. On the other hand, if the silane is in the form of a lineated in the appended claims. In the examples all per dry, insoluble powder, it, together with the oxidizer, can centages are percent by weight unless otherwise designated. be bonded with a suitable fuel such as a hydrocarbon Example I polymer or other organic resin. In such cases the silane A mixture of 20% powdered poly(dimethylsilane) and may be merely dispersed in the resin bonding matrix or 80% ammonium perchlorate was pressed into a solid the silane may actually copolymerize with the organic form. The mixture was found to have an impact detona bonding resin. tion of 7.6 cm. under a 2 kg. load, a spark ignition of The most desirable results are obtained when the silane .0067 joule, a heat of explosion of 1545-47 calories per is interacted with an organic resin containing carbon 70 gram and a specific impulse of 257 seconds as measured carbon unsaturation. Thus, for example, one may inter in a force bomb. act a polysilane with an unsaturated polyester or with an The above properties show that the mixture is a good 8,187,599 3. rocket fuel with respect to energy output but is sensitive The specific impulse of this material showed it to be suit to spark and shock. able for use as a rocket propellant. Example 2 . - Example 8 A mixture of 19% powdered poly(dimethylsilane), 5% A satisfactory propellant is obtained when 20% by powdered aluminum and 76% ammonium perchlorate 5 weight of a liquid polysilane of the formula . was made and found to have a heat of explosion of . Mea: - - 1569-8 calories per gram and a specific impulse of 240 Me HSiCSi).SiMe2H Seconds. ... - - is mixed with 80% by weight of the following oxidizers: . Example 3 - hydrazine perchlorate, nitronium perchlorate, and am-- ... monium nitrate. - 20% of a thick, liquid polysilane of the formula . That which is claimed is: Me 1. As a rocket propellant, a mixture of from (1) 60 Me3Si(Si) SiMe3 , 90% by weight of a solid inorganic oxidizer selected from was mixed with 80% ammonium perchlorate. This mix the group consisting of solid inorganic salts and solid co ture was much safer to handle than that of Example 1 as: ordination complexes of perchloric acid, and (2) from shown by the higher impact and greater spark ignition. 10-40%. by weight of a fuel comprising at least a major The mixture had a heat of explosion of 1573-19 calories proportion by weight based on the weight of (2) of a poly. per gram and a specific impulse of 241 seconds. silane selected from the group consisting of silanes of the . - ... Example 4 formula The polysilane of Example 3 was mixed in amount of R', . 19% with 5% aluminum powder and 76% ammonium R3Si(Si)xSiR3 ... ". perchlorate. The heat of explosion of the mixture was and (R',Si) in which R, R', and R” are each selected . 1052-7 calories per gram and the specific impulse was from the group consisting of the methyl radical and hydro 25 gen, at least one Randone R' per silicon being methyl, x 225 seconds. Example 5 - is an integer of at least one, and y is an integer of at least. 4, any remaining fuel being selected from the group con A liquid polymer of the unit formula (MeHSi) was ' sisting of oxidizable metals, oxidizable metal hydrides and mixed with a copolymer of 90% polybutadiene and 10% organic resin polymers. styrene having a viscosity of about 380,000 cs. at 25°C. 30 2. As a rocket propellant, a mixture consisting essential and a molecular weight of from 8,000 to 10,000.