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PREFACE À dvanced propellant chemistry embodies all aspects of chemistry which -*^are normally used commercially to bring a product to market. N e w molecules must be synthesized, characterized, and produced on a scale adequate to effect a proper evaluation. Various military departments place as much emphasis on safety as on increased energy since rockets must be capable of safe handling by service personnel under combat con ditions. Thus, questions of long term storage stability become para mount as the product advances to its end-use stage. In addition, the propellants must be safe with respect to impact, heat, and penetration by projectiles. O n the other hand, i n the test phase less stringent safety requirements are needed since i n the hands of highly trained scientific personnel, much more hazardous ingredients can be tolerated. In this symposium both the chemical and propulsion companies are heavily represented, but this was not always true. Increased government support of propulsion research since 1958 necessitated the involvement of major segments of the chemical industry. Before this time, most pro pulsion research was conducted by propulsion companies as an essential aspect of product improvement and competitive marketing. The com petition, in the more basic research areas, between propellant chemists and industrial chemists working on propellant ingredients has tended to improve the quality of both. M a n y of the great advances i n modern inorganic chemistry in the past few decades have been a direct result of federal support i n the areas of explosives and propellants. Aside from the transuranium elements, the chemistry of boron, beryllium, and fluorine have been elucidated because of this support. Research i n fluorine chemistry was stimulated b y the interest of the Atomic Energy Commission, and recent propellant work has shown it to be a " m i l d " reagent compared with other chemicals. One no longer needs to rely solely on the disruptive electrochemical and jet fluorinations; fluorine has been tamed and can be handled as easily as other halogens. The resurgence of boron hydride chemistry owing to A E C interest i n volatile uranium compounds and military interest i n the energy of these molecules, has revealed a chemical potential which as yet is barely tapped. Nonvacuum line, aqueous chemistry of the boron hy drides and fluorine itself w i l l most assuredly lead to industrial applica tions of great magnitude i n the next decades. ix
Holzmann; Advanced Propellant Chemistry Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1966.
The chemistry reported i n this volume was selected to give the unin itiated an appreciation of the scope of propellant research. The areas of thermochemistry, combustion research, polymer modification, materials research, etc., have intentionally been excluded since other forums have existed for them. I would luce to acknowledge publicly the many chemists and engi neers who have made these papers possible but who w i l l never receive acknowledgment owing to the nature of their contributions. Inade quately stated, their devotion to the public interest and to chemistry have made this work possible. RICHARD T. HOLZMANN
Washington, D. C. July 1965
χ Holzmann; Advanced Propellant Chemistry Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1966.
