Zhang Xuyanga， Tan Linghuab， Dong Guanchena
a.School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering， b.School of Safety Science and Engineering， Nanjing University of Science and Technology， Nanjing 210094， China
Abstract
Significance Energetic materials serve as foundational materials in national defense， the military industry， and civil blasting fields， providing critical support for the development of related sectors. However， their application is accompanied by extremely high safety risks. Electrostatic-induced explosion accidents， which account for approximately 10% to 20% of unexpected accidents involving explosives， are among the major threats to personnel safety and production stability throughout the processes of production， storage， transportation， and use of energetic materials. Therefore， it is urgent to carry out research on electrostatic safety prevention and control of energetic materials. Electrostatic spark sensitivity， which refers to the sensitivity of energetic materials to electrostatic discharge under specific test conditions， is a comprehensive manifestation of the chain process of “charge generation-accumulation-discharge.” It is jointly determined by microscopic characteristics such as material work function and crystal structure， as well as external environmental and process factors such as frictional collision， container material， and temperature and humidity. Accurate evaluation and regulation of this characteristic are crucial for ensuring safe production， storage， transportation， and process optimization.
Progress In this study， the basic theories of electrostatic safety of energetic materials are systematically reviewed， including the mechanisms of static electricity generation and accumulation， as well as the formation characteristics of electrostatic sparks. The essence of electrostatic charging is the separation of positive and negative charges. For highly insulating energetic materials with volume resistivity generally ranging from 1010 to 1014 Ω·m， the charge dissipation rate is extremely slow， and continuous electrostatic accumulation can easily develop once charge transfer occurs. Solid contact–separation charging is the main mechanism of static electricity generation during the production of energetic materials， and friction enhances charge transfer by changing the dynamic contact–separation process. The essence of electrostatic sparks is the breakdown phenomenon of the gas medium between two electrodes， and when the electrostatic discharge energy reaches the ignition threshold of energetic materials， it directly triggers explosion accidents. The understanding framework of electrostatic spark sensitivity is constructed by combining microscopic material characteristics and macroscopic environmental factors. The influencing factors of electrostatic spark sensitivity are analyzed from the perspectives of charge generation， accumulation， and discharge stages. In the charge generation stage， the work function dominates the charging tendency. In the charge accumulation stage， crystal defects， molecular topology， and conductivity jointly determine the degree of charge accumulation. In the electrostatic discharge stage， thermal parameters such as the reaction exothermic rate determine whether the energy can overcome the barrier to initiate detonation. Data-driven methods such as machine learning are introduced to explore their applications in electrostatic spark sensitivity prediction and influencing factor identification. Early empirical models have established quantitative relationships between electrostatic spark sensitivity and molecular composition， specific functional groups， detonation performance， and thermal decomposition stability. Machine learning has further revealed the nonlinear coupling effects of factors such as charge distribution， electronic structure， topological characteristics， oxygen balance， and test devices， and has extracted structure–sensitivity relationships through feature screening and interpretation methods， thereby providing a basis for the design of low-electrostatic-sensitive materials.
Conclusions and Prospects Research on electrostatic spark sensitivity of energetic materials is of critical significance for achieving intrinsic safety throughout their preparation， storage， and use. A systematic review clarifies that the generation–accumulation–discharge chain of static electricity represents the core mechanism of electrostatic risks， and both intrinsic material properties and external process environments jointly determine the actual electrostatic safety level. The coordinated strategy based on multi-scale structure regulation and full-process environmental control provides a feasible pathway for precise regulation of electrostatic spark sensitivity. Despite phased achievements， several challenges remain： the multi-scale coupling complexity of electrostatic issues involving microelectronic behaviors， mesoscopic crystal structures， and macroscopic process environments； the difficulty in balancing high energy density and low electrostatic spark sensitivity as most current desensitization strategies compromise energy performance； the challenge of electrostatic risk assessment under complex working conditions due to the inability of laboratory tests to fully simulate extreme industrial scenarios； the limitations of data-driven methods caused by insufficient data scale， inconsistent test standards， and narrow model applicability； and the demand for advanced characterization techniques to monitor dynamic processes such as charge distribution and discharge hotspots under real working conditions. Future research should focus on the fine regulation of electrostatic spark sensitivity， the development of multi-scale coupling theoretical models and advanced characterization techniques， and the application of data-driven methods for accurate risk prediction and material design. Furthermore， efforts should be made to advance composite technologies that integrate intrinsic structure regulation with process environment control， and promote the transformation from “passive prevention and control” to “active design” for the safe application of energetic materials.
Keywords：energetic material； electrostatic spark sensitivity； electrostatic safety prevention and control； intrinsic structure regulation； data-driven method
Get Citation:Zhang Xuyang， Tan Linghua， Dong Guanchen. Research progress on fundamentals of electrostatic safety of energetic materials and regulation strategies for electrostatic spark sensitivity［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2027， 33（1）： 1-11.
Received:2026-07-09， Revised： 2026-08-17， Online： 2026-09-13。
Funding：The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51802156).
DOI：10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2027.01.008
CLC No.：TQ56；TB44
Type Code: A
Serial No.: 1008-5548（2027）01-0001-11
