Los Alamos National Laboratory chemist Bryce Tappan ignites a small quantity of aluminum nanoparticle water mixture. In open air, the compound burns like a Fourth of July sparkler. “Knowing much more about the mechanisms at work in metal combustion gives you a chance to refine the models that govern these reactions,” Tappan added. Combustion mechanism of aluminum nanoparticles and water published in prestigious German chemistry journal Don’t worry, that beer can you’re holding is not going to spontaneously burst into flames, but under the right circumstances aluminum does catch fire, and the exact mechanism that governs how, has long been a mystery. Now, new research by Los Alamos National Laboratory explosives scientist Bryce Tappan, published as the cover story in the prestigious German journal of chemistryAngewandte Chemie, for the first time confirms that chemical kinetics — the speed of a chemical reaction — is a primary function in determining nanoaluminum combustion burn rates. “It’s been long understood that nanoscale aluminum particles, 110 nanometers and smaller, are highly reactive. Aluminum particles at this scale have been used in novel explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnic formulations,” said Tappan. “The understanding of the combustion mechanism impacts how we look at the design of ever
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