"In many ways similar to boron, silicon is a safe, relatively inexpensive fuel used in igniter and delay compositions. It has a high melting point
(1,410°C), and com- binations of this material with a high-melting oxidizer may be diffcult to ignite. The oxidation product, silicon dioxide (SiO2),
is high melting and, importantly, is environmentally acceptable. Silicon has been used for a number of years, with red lead oxide (Pb3O4) as the
oxidizer, to produce fast-burning delay mixtures for use in blasting caps. The delay columns are manufactured with a range of delay times, and each
provides a brief time lag (measured in milliseconds) between the fring signal and detonation of the cap. This allows the explosives engineer to design
a blasting pattern whereby all of the explosive charges that have been carefully and systemati- cally placed in a quarry or mine do not detonate
simultaneously. The resulting brief delays produce a blast pattern that can aid greatly in reducing fy rock and ground vibrations compared to a blast
where all charges are detonated simultaneously.
The reaction of silicon with iron oxide is an example of a moderate-reactivity, low-gas formulation seeking an application. The reaction zone moves
through the composition as an incandescent zone, with minimum faming. The reaction products (iron and silicon dioxide) are environmentally acceptable
by most current criteria. The reaction is
2 Fe2O3 + 3 Si → 4 Fe + 3 SiO2 (3.23) which is stoichiometric at 83% iron(III) oxide and 17% silicon." - Conkling, Chemistry of Pyrotechnics
Si is similar to lower temp version of B in terms of straight metalloid ignitor comp reactions.
I haven't heard of liquid oxidizers with nanoenergetics but who knows.
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