Using a one-pot synthesis in water, the project team will prepare and characterize novel, solidstate perovskite-based pyrotechnic colorants and oxidizers, based on copper and/or boron, that burn to radiate selectively in the bandwidth corresponding to green-colored light (520 – 565 nm). The novel ingredients will be free of polyvinyl chloride and barium compounds and will not produce the combustion products that result from such compounds. This effort will culminate in the successful laboratory-scale development of at least one defined pyrotechnic prototype for an armament application such as a green-colored pyrotechnic signal flare.

This project will be conducted in one year as three separate, serial tasks to address technical issues for justifying project continuation as a Standard Proposal in future years. 

Task 1. Synthesis of Candidate Perovskites. This will require evaluation of many different precursor materials and processes to afford energetic and non-energetic perovskite crystals. The precursors and processes will avoid the use of heavy metals (e.g. barium compounds), organic solvents, or polyvinyl chloride. 

Task 2. Characterization of Perovskites. The novel synthetic perovskites will need chemical analysis prior to formulating into a green-burning illuminant flare composition. Several well-established analytical methods from the literature and from MIL-SPECs will be employed for confirmation of the perovskite structure, along with safety and compatibility of the novel ingredient(s). 

Task 3. Small Scale Formulation Prototyping. The confirmed perovskites will be blended into formulations for the establishment of safe pyrotechnic loading procedures and the design of prototype test assets. The loaded pyrotechnics derived from the synthetic perovskites will be subjected to additional compatibility and safety tests, along with static burn testing for the assessment of color quality in comparison to the standard barium-based control formulation.

Solid-state perovskite crystals have a high degree of tunability and will enable rapid, safe, and convenient access to environmentally benign pyrotechnic materials with enhanced performance. The perovskites can be synthesized from inexpensive, commercially available ingredients in water and the combustion products are primarily metal oxides and carbon dioxide, which are natural to the environment. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2026)