Reduce the Charge Accumulation of Energetic Powder Based on Electrostatic Neutralization: Computational and Experimental Study

Charge accumulation in powder particles often induces agglomeration, wall sticking, and other phenomena, which can significantly compromise production efficiency, storage stability, and operational safety. Surface modification presents an effective strategy for eliminating these electrostatic effects. In this study, we employ N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APTS) and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-trimethoxysilane (FOTS) to modify cyclictrimethylenetriamine (RDX) powders, developing binary and ternary composite materials (RDX@FOTS/APTS) to reduce the charge accumulation. Firstly, we use Gaussian and other software to optimize the geometric structure based on density functional theory (DFT). It is found that the ternary RDX@FOTS/APTS system exhibits superior binding energy and stability compared to binary composites. Charge distribution analysis demonstrates cooperative positive charge sharing between FOTS and APTS, while RDX maintains negative charge, suggesting an electrostatic neutralization mechanism for static electricity suppression. Subsequently, a series of RDX@FOTS-APTS composite energetic materials are prepared and characterized via SEM, XRD, XPS, volume resistivity meter, and charge accumulation tester, etc. The results show that FOTS and APTS modification have no significant effect on the morphology and crystal structure of RDX. Notably, increasing either modifier concentration or APTS proportion progressively reduce charge accumulation, even reversing the charge from negative to positive. Optimal performance is achieved at 2 wt% total modifier content (FOTS: APTS = 0.75:0.25 mass ratio), when the RDX@FOTS-APTS has the minimum charge accumulation (0.41 nC·g -1 ) and 98.3% reduced volume resistivity.