Mixed oxides of nitrogen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen (MON) are solutions of nitric oxide (NO) in dinitrogen tetroxide/nitrogen dioxide (N₂O₄ and NO₂). It may be used as oxidizing agent in rocket propulsion systems. A broad range of compositions is available, and can be denoted as MONi, where i represents the percentage of nitric oxide in the mixture (e.g. MON3 contains 3% nitric oxide, MON25 25% nitric oxide). An upper limit is MON40 (40% by weight). In Europe MON 1.3 is mostly used for rocket propulsion systems, while the NASA seems to prefer MON 3. A higher percentage of NO decreases the corrosiveness of the liquid, while the costs increase and the oxidation potential is decreased.