Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism

Liu, Yixin; Tang, Xiaolin; Zhang, Bin; Zhou, Yuming; Li, Junyu; Zheng, Zeyu; Zhang, Yifu; Huang, Yanfen; Huang, Chi

doi:10.3390/ijms27135964

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Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism

by

Yixin Liu

^1,†,

Xiaolin Tang

^1,†,

Bin Zhang

²,

Yuming Zhou

¹,

Junyu Li

¹,

Zeyu Zheng

¹,

Yifu Zhang

^1,3,*

,

Yanfen Huang

⁴

and

Chi Huang

^1,*

¹

College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

²

System Design Institute of Hubei Aerospace Technology Academy, Wuhan 430040, China

³

Hubei Key Laboratory of Radiation Chemistry and Functional Materials, School of Nuclear Technology and Chemistry & Biology, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437100, China

⁴

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(13), 5964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27135964

Submission received: 22 May 2026 / Revised: 23 June 2026 / Accepted: 30 June 2026 / Published: 2 July 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass as Feedstock for the Production of High Value-Added Chemicals by Heterogeneous Catalysis)

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Abstract

The thermal decomposition performance of ammonium perchlorate (AP) is a key factor in regulating the combustion of composite solid propellants, and its catalytic decomposition process is considered a typical multiphase catalytic process. The exposure of catalytic centers during multiphase catalysis is a key factor affecting catalytic performance. In response to the problem of low atomic utilization efficiency of traditional metal oxide catalysts, this study successfully prepared nitrogen-doped carbon-supported single-atom cobalt catalyst (SACo-PC-X) using the “zinc volatilization pore formation and nitrogen anchoring” method with inexpensive biomass as the precursor. Aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, together with XPS and XRD analyses, suggests that Co species are predominantly stabilized in an atomically dispersed Co-N_x configuration. This catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance for the thermal decomposition of AP, significantly reducing its high-temperature decomposition temperature from 433.5 °C to 322.7 °C (The cobalt content in the system is less than 0.2%). Gas studies have shown that Co-N_x sites efficiently accelerate the oxidation process of NH₃ by promoting electron transfer, resulting in a significant increase in the proportion of N₂O gas. This work not only provides an efficient and stable new catalyst for AP decomposition, but also offers new ideas for designing energetic material decomposition catalysts at the atomic level.

Keywords: single-atom catalyst; biomass carbon; cobalt-based catalyst; thermal decomposition; ammonium perchlorate

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, Y.; Tang, X.; Zhang, B.; Zhou, Y.; Li, J.; Zheng, Z.; Zhang, Y.; Huang, Y.; Huang, C. Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27, 5964. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27135964

AMA Style

Liu Y, Tang X, Zhang B, Zhou Y, Li J, Zheng Z, Zhang Y, Huang Y, Huang C. Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2026; 27(13):5964. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27135964

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Yixin, Xiaolin Tang, Bin Zhang, Yuming Zhou, Junyu Li, Zeyu Zheng, Yifu Zhang, Yanfen Huang, and Chi Huang. 2026. "Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 27, no. 13: 5964. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27135964

APA Style

Liu, Y., Tang, X., Zhang, B., Zhou, Y., Li, J., Zheng, Z., Zhang, Y., Huang, Y., & Huang, C. (2026). Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 27(13), 5964. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27135964

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Biochar-Based Single-Atom Cobalt Catalyst for Efficient Thermal Decomposition of Ammonium Perchlorate: Preparation, Performance and Mechanism

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