Combustion behaviour of nitrocellulose and its complexes with copper oxide. Hot stage microscopic studies

Complexes of nitrocellulose (NC - low and high nitrogen content) with coppe r oxide (CuO) have been synthesized and studied for morphological behaviour on heating from room temperature to 500 degreesC with the help of hot stag e microscopy (HSM). During decomposition, NC:CuO complexes show contraction of fibrous boundari es followed by mass movement of matrix, with the evolution of brown yellow colour gas at higher temperatures as compared to NC alone.