Role of graphene on thermal properties of Al/MnO₂ nano-thermite system

MnO₂ nano-powder has a unique thermal decomposition process compared to that of other metal oxides owing to their high diffusive property. Samples of Al/MnO₂/graphene nano-thermite were synthesized using physical mixing at low temperatures to investigate the thermal properties. Different samples were synthesized by varying the content of graphene and keeping the amounts of Al and MnO₂ fixed in the thermite. The prepared thermite samples are characterized using techniques, namely DSC, TGA, FESEM, EDS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. This article deals with the study of heat release in Al/MnO₂ nano-thermite samples when reinforced with graphene. The maximum heat release of 1151 J g^–1 is observed for the nano-thermite sample with 2.5 wt% of graphene. This measured value of heat release is approximately 25% of the theoretical value, i.e., 4 kJ g^–1.