Effect of Some Chemical Additives in Increasing the Electrical Conductivity of the Liquid Fuel Dimethyl Aminoethyl Azide (DMAZ)

The novel liquid fuel 2-dimethylaminoethyl azide (DMAZ) is a good candidate for the replacement of the hydrazine family in space programs. However, it suffers from low electrical conductivity, which is dangerous during the production process and its transportation. A simple and effective way to increase its electrical conductivity is the use of antistatic additives. In this article, the electrical conductivity of DMAZ was initially predicted via an artificial neural network. Then, the increase in electrical conductivity of DMAZ was investigated using some chemical surfactants (such as hexylamine, octylamine and tributylamine), acetonitrile as a polar aprotic substance and a DMAZ salt (DMAZ·HCl) as an ionic liquid. Of these additives, acetonitrile had the greatest effect on the electrical conductivity of the fuel, exhibiting an increase in conductivity of about 45%. Adding a two-component mixture of acetonitrile and the DMAZ salt, further increased the electrical conductivity of the fuel by about 55%, relative to pure DMAZ. Tributylamine did not have a significant effect on the electrical conductivity of the fuel.