Ammonium dinitramide (ADN), an eco-friendly oxidizer for propellants, offers high specific impulse but suffers from severe hygroscopicity, limiting its use. To address this, a stepwise “spherical granulation & Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation-guided hydrophobic coating” strategy is presented. MD screened 12 hydrophobic materials for ADN coating compatibility. Experimental validation involved optimizing melt granulation stirring speed and viscosity, employing Fluorocarbon Surfactant FC-02 coating. The results indicate that MD simulations identified FC-02 as the optimal coating material, with an interaction energy of −1554.98 kJ/mol with ADN, dominated by electrostatic interactions. After optimizing melt granulation parameters, the ADN particle size decreased to 0.16 mm, with a sphericity reaching 0.819. Following FC-02 coating, the water absorption of ADN decreased to 0.39%, while maintaining stable energy performance, and friction sensitivity reduced by 16%, significantly enhancing safety. This study shows the synergistic mechanism of “spherical granulation and hydrophobic coating,” providing theoretical support for the engineering application of ADN in propellants.
Zheng et al. (2026) studied this question.