  There is a growing interest on novel energetic materials called Nanoenergetic
Gas-Generators (NGGs) which are potential alternatives to traditional energetic
materials including pyrotechnics, propellants, primers and solid rocket fuels.
NGGs are formulations that utilize metal powders as a fuel and oxides or
hydroxides as oxidizers that can rapidly release large amount of heat and
gaseous products to generate shock waves. The heat and pressure discharge,
impact sensitivity, long term stability and other critical properties depend on
the particle size and shape, as well as assembling procedure and intermixing
degree between the components. The extremely high energy density and the
ability to tune the dynamic properties of the energetic system makes NGGs ideal
candidates to dilute or replace traditional energetic materials for emerging
applications. In terms of energy density, performance and controllability of
dynamic properties, the energetic materials based on bismuth and iodine
compounds are exceptional among the NGGs. The thermodynamic calculations and
experimental study confirm that NGGs based on iodine and bismuth compounds
mixed with aluminum nanoparticles are the most powerful formulations to date
and can be used potentially in microthrusters technology with high
thrust-to-weight ratio with controlled combustion and exhaust velocity for
space applications. The resulting nano thermites generated significant value of
pressure discharge up to 14.8 kPa m3/g. They can also be integrated with carbon
nanotubes to form laminar composite yarns with high power actuation of up to
4700 W/kg, or be used in other emerging applications such as biocidal agents to
effectively destroy harmful bacteria in seconds, with 22 mg/m2 minimal content
over infected area.
