Releasing chemical energy in spatiallyprogrammed ferroelectrics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Chemical energy ferroelectrics are macromolecules with spontaneous polarization and chemical bonding energy.
• Existing materials have limited control over energy release rates and low thermal decomposition energy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel energetic ferroelectric materials with improved control over energy release.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional chemical energy ferroelectrics.

Main Methods:

• Machine learning-directed additive manufacturing.
• Ice-templating assembly for creating aligned porous architectures.
• Polarization state switching to tune material properties.

Main Results:

• Developed aligned porous ferroelectric material with low density (0.35 g cm⁻³).
• Achieved polarization-controlled energy release and anisotropic thermal conductivity (ratio of 15).
• Observed high exothermic enthalpy of reaction (6180 kJ kg⁻¹) due to chlorine radical reactions.
• Tuned detonation velocity from 6.69 ± 0.21 to 7.79 ± 0.25 km s⁻¹ by switching polarization.

Conclusions:

• Integrated molecular ferroelectric and energetic material synthesized via advanced manufacturing techniques.
• Demonstrated polarization-controlled energy release and tunable detonation velocity.
• Provides a pathway for spatially programmed energetic ferroelectrics with controlled energy release rates.