Hydroxylammonium nitrate

HAN has applications as a component of rocket propellant, in both solid and liquid form. HAN and ammonium dinitramide (ADN), another energetic ionic compound, were investigated as less-toxic replacements for toxic hydrazine for monopropellant rockets where only a catalyst is needed to cause decomposition.^[5] HAN and ADN will work as monopropellants in water solution, as well as when dissolved with fuel liquids such as methanol.

HAN is used by the Network Centric Airborne Defense Element boost-phase interceptor being developed by Raytheon.^[6] As a solid propellant oxidizer, it is typically bonded with glycidyl azide polymer (GAP), hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), or carboxy-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB) and requires preheating to 200-300 °C to decompose.^{[citation needed]} When used as a monopropellant, the catalyst is a noble metal, similar to the other monopropellants that use silver, palladium, or iridium.^{[citation needed]}

HAN also enabled the development of solid propellants that could be controlled electrically and switched on and off.^[7] Developed by DSSP for special effects^[8] and microthrusters, these were the first HAN-based propellants in space; and aboard the Naval Research Laboratory SpinSat, launched in 2014.^[9][10]

It was used in a fuel/oxidizer blend known as "AF-M315E"^[1] in the high thrust engines of the Green Propellant Infusion Mission,^[11][12][13] which was initially expected to be launched in 2015, and eventually launched and deployed on 25 June 2019.^[14] The specific impulse of AF-M315E is 257 s.^[1] The aqueous solution of HAN can be added with fuel components such as methanol, glycine, TEAN (triethanolammonium nitrate), and amines to form high performance monopropellants for space propulsion systems.^[15]

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) launched a demonstration of HAN-based thruster aboard a microsatellite in January 2018.^[16]

Japanese technology demonstration satellite Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-1, launched in January 2019, contains a demonstration thruster using HAN and operated successfully in orbit.^[17][18][19]

HAN is sometimes used in nuclear reprocessing as a reducing agent for plutonium ions.^[20]

• Donald G. Harlow et al. (1998). "Technical Report on Hydroxlyamine Nitrate". U.S. Department of Energy. DOE/EH-0555
• Gösta Bengtsson et al. (2002) "The kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of hydroxylamine by iron(III)". J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans., 2002, 2548–2552. doi:10.1039/B201602H
• Schmidt, Eckart W. (2022). "Hydroxylammonium Salts". Encyclopedia of Oxidizers. Vol. 3. De Gruyter. pp. 1589–1816. doi:10.1515/9783110750294-011. ISBN 978-3-11-075029-4.
• Schmidt, Eckart W. (2023). "Hydroxylammonium Nitrate-Based Monopropellants". Encyclopedia of Monopropellants. Vol. 2. De Gruyter. pp. 807–1194. doi:10.1515/9783110751390-007. ISBN 978-3-11-075139-0.