LeSergent, Lauren2018-09-052018-09-052018-09-052018-08-30http://hdl.handle.net/10012/13739Thermites are a class of energetic material that produce heat through an exothermic reaction, making them useful for welding, metal refining, and propulsion applications. Compared to traditional micron-scale thermite powders, nanothermites offer improvements in the reaction rate, sensitivity, and activation energy. These nanothermites also offer structure and size dependent controllability of the reaction and ignition properties. Due to the development of nanothermites, novel thermite applications have been proposed, including materials for micropropulsion, microwelding, and MEMs. For many of these applications, their feasibility depends on the controllability of thermite ignition and reaction characteristics, presenting a need for a more in-depth understanding of the controllability and reaction mechanisms of these materials. In this work, the tunability of reaction and ignition characteristics of Al-Cu2O thermite nanolaminates are explored through heating in a Differential Scanning Calorimeter, and with laser ignition. This serves to provide a basis for how structural parameters allow for the manipulation of reaction characteristics. Additionally, there are a lack of laser studies for aluminum-copper-based thermite nanolaminates, and this directly addresses the relationship between structural parameters and laser ignition/reaction parameters. A novel method for determining the reaction mechanism of thermite nanolaminates is also introduced in this work. Understanding the reaction mechanism is vital when seeking to accurately model or design thermite nanomaterials, and this offers an alternative method to the common differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron spectroscopy studiesenthermitenanocombustionMaster Thesis