Experimental Characterization of Advanced Materials for the Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide

Alta S.p.A. (Italy) and DELTACAT Ltd. (United Kingdom) are conducting a study, funded by the European Space Agency, into the development of hydrogen peroxide monopropellant thrusters using advanced catalytic beds. The present paper focuses on the design of a dedicated test bench to assess the effectiveness of different catalyst samples when immersed in hydrogen peroxide. To date, the apparatus has been used to study powdered silver and three oxides of manganese. The evaluation of an analytical technique for determining the observed decomposition rates is also presented. In addition to devising a quantitative method for assessing the efficacy of the candidate catalysts, some qualitative studies of proposed metallic catalysts, in the form of wires immersed in hydrogen peroxide, are also described. Of the catalyst materials tested so far, preliminary results suggest that dimanganese trioxide offers slightly better performance than both manganese dioxide and silver.