Peptide Assembly of Al/CuO Nanothermite for Enhanced Reactivity of Nanoaluminum Particles |
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| Authors: | Miaomiao Jin Zhanxin Song Wei Liu Zilu Zhou Guozhen Wang Mo Xian |
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| Affiliation: | 1.Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; (Z.S.); (Z.Z.); (G.W.);2.Institute of Corrosion Science and Technology, Guangzhou 510530, China; |
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| Abstract: | Biological self-assembly procedures, which are generally carried out in an aqueous solution, have been found to be the most promising method for directing the fabrication of diverse nanothermites, including Al/CuO nanothermite. However, the aqueous environment in which Al nanoparticles self-assemble has an impact on their stability. We show that using a peptide to self-assemble Al or CuO nanoparticles considerably improves their durability in phosphate buffer aqueous solution, with Al and CuO nanoparticles remaining intact in aqueous solution for over 2 weeks with minimal changes in the structure. When peptide-assembled Al/CuO nanothermite was compared with a physically mixed sample in phosphate buffer for 30 min, the energy release of the former was higher by 26%. Furthermore, the energy release of peptide-assembled Al/CuO nanocomposite in phosphate buffer showed a 6% reduction by Day 7, while that of the peptide-assembled Al/CuO nanocomposite in ultrapure water was reduced by 75%. Taken together, our study provides an easy method for keeping the thermal activity of Al/CuO nanothermite assembled in aqueous solution. |
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| Keywords: | biological self-assembly thermal analysis peptide Al nanoparticles stability |
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