Ultrafast Shock Initiation of Exothermic Chemistry in Hydrogen Peroxide

MR Armstrong and JM Zaug and N Goldman and IFW Kuo and JC Crowhurst and WM Howard and JA Carter and M Kashgarian and JM Chesser and TW Barbee and S Bastea, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY A, 117, 13051-13058 (2013).

DOI: 10.1021/jp407595u

We report observations of shock compressed, unreacted hydrogen peroxide at pressures up to the von Neumann pressure for a steady detonation wave, using ultrafast laser-driven shock wave methods. At higher laser drive energy we find evidence of exothermic chemical reactivity occurring in less than 100 ps after the arrival of the shock wave in the sample. The results are consistent with our MD simulations and analysis and suggest that reactivity in hydrogen peroxide is initiated on a sub-100 ps time scale under conditions found just subsequent to the lead shock in a steady detonation wave.

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