Monopropellant

Monopropellants^[1] are propellants consisting of chemicals that release energy through exothermic chemical decomposition. The molecular bond energy of the monopropellant is released usually through use of a catalyst. This can be contrasted with bipropellants that release energy through the chemical reaction between an oxidizer and a fuel. While stable under defined storage conditions, monopropellants decompose very rapidly under certain other conditions to produce a large volume of its own energetic (hot) gases for the performance of mechanical work. Although solid deflagrants such as nitrocellulose, the most commonly used propellant in firearms, could be thought of as monopropellants, the term is usually reserved for liquids in engineering literature.^[2]

^ Sybil P. Parker (2003). McGraw-Hill dictionary of scientific and technical terms (6 ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 1370. ISBN 978-0-07-042313-8. A rocket propellant consisting of a single substance, especially a liquid, capable of creating rocket thrust without the addition of a second substance.
^ Vere, Ray (1985). Aviation Fuels Technology. Macmillan Education UK. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-349-06904-0.

[1] Sybil P. Parker (2003). McGraw-Hill dictionary of scientific and technical terms (6 ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 1370. ISBN 978-0-07-042313-8. A rocket propellant consisting of a single substance, especially a liquid, capable of creating rocket thrust without the addition of a second substance.

[2] Vere, Ray (1985). Aviation Fuels Technology. Macmillan Education UK. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-349-06904-0.

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