Thermal decomposition of nitromethane: Experiments and model validation

Nitromethane (CH3NO2) is the simplest energetic fuel with a nitro group and generally considered a suitable prototype to understand monopropellant in detail [1, 2]. Kinetic and mechanistic information on decomposition pathways of nitromethane are important for comprehending its physical and chemical properties. The first kinetic model of the decomposition was investigated via shock heating by Glänzer and Troe [3]. The concentration profiles of CH3NO2 and NO2 were recorded over the temperature range 900-1400 K. And other products were not determined. The pyrolysis of nitromethane at the temperature range of 676-771 K was studied by Perche et al. [4] in a static reaction vessel. They found numerous species in the pyrolysis, like CO, NO, CH4, H2, C2H6, CH3OH and so on. A mechanism of nitromethane, involving 28 reactions, was proposed and validated using the experimental data. Hsu and Lin [5] carried out the decomposition of highly diluted nitromethane in Ar over the temperature range of 940-1520 K through a shock tube, at the pressures of 0.4-2.0 atm. Two most important product concentration profiles: NO and CO were measured. They suggested a mechanism of 37 reactions that was an extension of the mechanism of Perche et al. Then Zhang and Bauer [6] reported on the decomposition of nitromethane developed in reflected shock waves. The rate of disappearance of nitromethane and on the production rates of several light hydrocarbons over the temperature range of 1000-1100 K. To account fully for the available data, a reaction mechanism of 99 reactions was proposed and validated with experimental data.