Titanium Nanoparticles on Reduced Boron Nanoparticles for Enhanced Combustion and Propulsion Performance in Hypersonic Fuel Systems

초록

This study introduces a dual strategy combining oxide-layer reduction and physical mixing with ignition promoters to enhance the combustion performance of boron-based nanoadditive for scramjet engine fuels. Oxide-layer-reduced boron nanoparticles were functionalized with a silane layer to improve their dispersion stability in hydrocarbon fuels. To further accelerate ignition and exothermic reactivity, titanium nanoparticles (TNs) were physically integrated with silane-coated reduced boron nanoparticles (SRBNs), enabling a tunable composite system without altering the individual particle functionality. Compared with bare boron, the optimized SRBN-TN formulations exhibited significantly enhanced combustion characteristics, including shortened combustion time, higher peak temperatures, and increased calorific output. Thermal analysis and high-speed droplet combustion imaging confirmed that the synergistic effect of silane coating and TN-induced ignition promoted faster and more complete combustion with reduced soot formation. These findings highlight the advantage of integrating surface-functionalized boron with ignition-promoting metals as a practical and scalable approach for developing high-performance energetic nanoadditive in advanced propulsion systems.

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