Abstract
Understanding the interfacial properties of high energy explosives blended with polymer binders is important for optimizing material performance and predicting aging. In the case of PBX 9502, direct measurements of the TATB–Kel-F 800 interface have been limited by the lack of high-fidelity model systems. This paper reports the fabrication of a new thin film, model TATB sample to enable neutron reflectometry measurements of this interface. The fabricated TATB films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The film deposits in the same polymorph as the TATB crystallites in PBX 9502, but in the form of highly textured nanopillars that are ~200 nm wide. The buried interface of the TATB film (i.e., bottoms of the pillars) has an rms roughness of ~3 nm and is the (001) crystal face. The TATB films retain their features when deposited on Kel-F 800 thin films, enabling the formation of layered PBX 9502 model samples. Neutron reflectometry measurements showed increasing roughness of the TATB–Kel-F 800 interface with thermal aging, consistent with void formation at this interface.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Energetic Materials |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - 2025 |
Funding
The authors would like to thank Daniel Trujillo for his support, and Alexander S. Tappan for helpful discussions. Mark A. Rodriguez assisted with XRD measurements. This work was supported by Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract Award No. 351438; Triad National Security, LLC under contract C2411/CW24147; and by the UC Lab Fees Fellowship from University of California Research Initiatives under contract LGF-20-652903. This work was performed, in part, at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), a NNSA User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract 89233218CNA000001. This paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative action equal opportunity employer, is operated by TRIAD National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. 89233218-NCNA000001.
Keywords
- Neutron reflectometry
- PBX 9502
- TATB
- thermal aging
- thin film
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