Chapter 16, Problem 38E

Among other things, an ideal fuel for the control thrusters of a space vehicle should decompose in a spontaneous exothermic reaction when exposed to the appropriate catalyst. Evaluate the following substances under standard state conditions as suitable candidates for fuels.

(a) Ammonia: ${\text{2NH}}_{\text{3}}\left(g\right)\to {\text{N}}_{\text{2}}\left(g\right)+{\text{3H}}_{\text{2}}\left(\text{g}\right)$

(b) Diborane: ${\text{B}}_{\text{2}}{\text{H}}_{\text{6}}\left(g\right)\to \text{2B}\left(g\right)+{\text{3H}}_{\text{2}}\left(g\right)$

(c) Hydrazine: ${\text{N}}_{\text{2}}{\text{H}}_{\text{4}}\left(g\right)\to {\text{N}}_{\text{2}}\left(g\right)+{\text{2H}}_{\text{2}}\left(g\right)$

(d) Hydrogen peroxide: ${\text{H}}_{\text{2}}{\text{O}}_{\text{2}}\left(l\right)\to {\text{H}}_{\text{2}}\text{O}\left(g\right)+\frac{1}{2}{\text{O}}_{\text{2}}\left(g\right)$