Abstract Ammonium nitrate (AN, NH4NO3) constitutes the key ingredient of monofuels and civilian-grade explosives, attracting scientific interests aimed at improving their operational and safety performance. This study investigates the combustion properties of redox crystals comprising ammonium nitrate and simple saccharides, with the infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and molecular modelling. Furthermore, the thermogravimetric measurements afford the isoconversional analysis that yields the overall activation energies of the decomposition process. In addition, the synthesised samples are subjected to elemental and sorption analyses. The results outline (i) the molecular inclusion of the solid fuels within the lattice clusters of AN, (ii) a comparable hygroscopicity behaviour, i.e., a minor increase in affinity towards the absorption of moisture, and (iii) an energetically improved decomposition (and regression) rate, relatively to pristine AN. These features manifest themselves in lower activation energies of redox crystals that enhance the deflagrating properties of these materials for possible application in aviation propellants, and minimise the environmental footprint, especially the emission of nitrogen oxide to the atmosphere, which arises because of inhomogeneities in AN-fuel mixtures commonly used in civilian explosives.

中文翻译：

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硝酸铵和糖类氧化还原晶体的燃烧特性

摘要 硝酸铵 (AN, NH4NO3) 是单一燃料和民用级炸药的关键成分，吸引了旨在提高其操作和安全性能的科学兴趣。本研究通过红外光谱、X 射线衍射和分子建模研究了包含硝酸铵和单糖的氧化还原晶体的燃烧特性。此外，热重测量提供了产生分解过程总活化能的等转化分析。此外，对合成样品进行元素和吸附分析。结果概述了 (i) AN 晶格簇内固体燃料的分子包含，(ii) 类似的吸湿性，即，对水分吸收的亲和力略有增加，以及 (iii) 相对于原始 AN 的分解（和回归）速率大幅提高。这些特征表现在氧化还原晶体的较低活化能，这增强了这些材料的爆燃性能，可能用于航空推进剂，并最大限度地减少环境足迹，尤其是由于 AN- 的不均匀性而产生的氮氧化物排放到大气中。民用炸药中常用的燃料混合物。