【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics develops a hybrid electrochemical green propellant, which was used on the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft to enable in-orbit operation

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On July 15, the Long March 7 Y10 carrier rocket successfully sent the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft into its intended orbit. The electrochemical dual-mode green propellant, developed by Researcher Wang Xiaodong from my Laboratory for Catalysis and New Materials (Room 15) and the team led by Academician Zhang Tao, was carried aboard the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft and launched into space, achieving in-orbit flight for the first time. The chemo-electric dual-mode green propellant can rapidly decompose and burn under the action of a catalyst, releasing high-temperature and high-pressure gases to achieve chemical propulsion ； Efficient ionization can also occur, enabling electrospray propulsion, which thus meets the diverse mission requirements of spacecraft such as satellites; it represents a cutting-edge field in space propulsion technology. Through years of continuous research, the teams led by Wang Xiaodong and Zhang Tao have overcome key technologies such as the formulation design of dual-mode propellants, the synthesis of imidazole-based ionic fuels, the mechanisms related to activation and stability, and the catalytic decomposition of highly viscous systems. At the molecular level, they have solved the critical problem of enabling a single propellant to function both for chemical propulsion and electric spray propulsion. As a result, they have developed a green dual-mode propellant that meets the requirements of on-orbit devices used in space station applications and engineering aerospace technology tests. The chemical-electric dual-mode green propellant technology combines the advantages of chemical propulsion, which offers high thrust and high reliability, with those of electric propulsion, which provides low thrust but high specific impulse. It features being non-toxic and pollution-free, having a high energy density, good stability, and the ability to be stored for long periods of time. It is expected to find applications in areas such as satellite networking, deep space exploration, and manned spaceflight.