The field of energetic materials encompasses much research on propellants which may be used for commercial and peaceful purposes.Examples of systems that employ such propellants are sounding rockets, used for research purposes in sub-orbital flight, rockets to deliver satellites for applications such as global positioning systems, and delivery of other small payloads to space.It is a niche area, and within the realm of polymer chemistry there exist many problems in reports from this community with regard to terminology.Specifically, there are several terms used within the field which i) are ambiguous, ii) may be reasonably assumed to have other definitions, or iii) have existing IUPAC definitions which are not relevant.The objective of this project is to provide clear definitions for these terms, as polymers constitute a large portion of any solid-rocket motor (up to 30 % by mass).A term of high importance will be the overarching term "energetic material," as reasonable definitions will clearly include different types of systems, such as batteries or capacitors.It may be necessary here to introduce qualifying words, such as "energetic polymer material," etc.Other terms presently under consideration for inclusion are "propellant," "binder," and "explosophor."The task group may further include polymer materials relevant to energy storage and conversion, such as batteries, photovoltaic cells, supercapacitors, etc. (referred to as "energy materials").
A Wed, study studied this question.