Study of copper-chromium oxide catalyst: I. Thermal decomposition of copper(III) chromate,CuCrO4

The kinetics, mechanism, and activation energy of the isothermal decomposition of CuCrO₄ was studied using an isothermal TG method and an X-ray high-temperature diffraction technique in either air or a flowing atmosphere of N₂. The enthalpy change ΔH of the decomposition reaction

$\text{2}\text{CuCrO}{}_4\text{→}\text{CuO}\text{+}\text{CuO}\text{+}\text{CuCr}{}_2\text{O}{}_4\text{+}\text{3}\text{2}\text{O}{}_2$

was determined by DSC analysis. The mechanism of the thermal decomposition of CuCrO₄ is well represented by the standard Avrami-Erofeev kinetic equation $\text{[?}\text{ln}\text{(1 ? α)]}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{= kt}$. According to this mechanism, the reaction rate is controlled by the formation and growth of nuclei on the surface of the reactant. The activation energy E_A of the process in air is E_A = (248 ± 8) kJ mole^?1, in flowing atmosphere of nitrogen E_A = (229 ± 8) kJ mole^?1. ΔH in air is 110 kJ mole^?1, in flowing nitrogen 67 kJ mole^?1. The lower values of ΔH and E_A in the flowing atmosphere of nitrogen are due to the fast elimination of O₂ from the reaction interface. However, the decay of the crystalline portion of CuCrO₄ during its thermal decomposition, studied by the X-ray diffraction, is controlled by a different reaction mechanism (first-order kinetics). The reaction mechanism is discussed in the relation to the crystal structure of the reactants.     

Tracer diffusion coefficient of oxide ions in LaCoO3 single crystal

The tracer diffusion coefficient, $\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$, of oxide ions in LaCoO₃ single crystal was determined over the temperature range of 700–1000°C by a gas-solid isotopic exchange technique using ¹⁸O tracer. For the determination, two methods, the gas phase analysis and the depth profile measurement, were employed. Under an oxygen pressure of 34 Torr, the temperature dependence of $\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$ in LaCoO₃ was expressed by

$\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}\text{(}\text{cm}{}^2\text{·}\text{sec}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{) = 3.63 × 10}{}^4\text{exp}\text{?}\text{(74 ± 5)}\text{kcal}\text{·}\text{mole}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{RT}$

$\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$ at 950°C was found to be proportional to P^?0.35_O2. The diffusion of oxide ions occurs through a vacancy mechanism. The activation energy for the migration of oxide ion vacancies was estimated as 18 kcal · mole^?1.     

Radical polymerization of n-substituted methacrylamides

The relationship between the structure of monomer and kinetics of the radical polymerization of N-ethylmethacrylamide, N-butylmethacrylamide and N-phenylmethacrylamide in methanol and in dimethylsulphoxide was investigated. The reaction order with respect to initiator is 0·5 in all cases; the order with respect to monomer is independent of the type of substituent but depends on the solvent and on the viscosity of the reaction mixture. The polymerization rate, the value of $\text{κ}{}_{\mathrm{p}}\text{/κ}{}_{\mathrm{t}}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, and the initiator efficiency decrease in the series N-phenylmethacrylamide, N-ethylmethacrylamide and N-butylmethacrylamide. The overall activation energy of polymerization for the monomers lies between 16 and 20 kcal/mol.     

Diffusion of oxide ions in LaFeO3 single crystal

The tracer diffusion coefficient, $\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$, of oxide ions in LaFeO₃ single crystal was determined over the temperature range of 900–1100°C by the gas-solid isotopic exchange technique using ¹⁸O as a tracer. For the determination of $\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$, the depth profile of ¹⁸O was measured by means of a secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS). The surface exchange reaction was found to be slow and the surface exchange rate constant, k, was determined together with $\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$. It was found that $\text{D1}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>O</mtext>}}$ at 950°C is proportional to P^?0.58_O2, where P_O2 is an oxygen pressure. The vacancy mechanism was determined for the diffusion of oxide ions from the P_O2 dependence. The vacancy diffusion coefficient, D_V, for LaFeO₃ was nearly the same as that for LaCoO₃ at the same temperature. The activation energy for migration of oxide ion vacancies was 74 kJ · mole^?1 for both oxides.     

Zur Kinetik der Spinellbildung von β-Ga2O3 mit zweiwertigen Oxiden. I. Die Festkörperreaktion von β-Ga2O3 mit NiO

The solid state reaction in a sandwich type diffusion couple of NiO and β-Ga₂O₃ has been investigated between 1240 and 1550°C in air and inert gas atmosphere.Optical microscope and X-ray methods are used to identify the reaction product, which is a singlephased spinel of the general formula $\text{Ni}{}_{\mathrm{1?y}}\text{Ga}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>2+</mtext><mtext>2y</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}\text{O}{}_4$. The homogeneity range of the spinel phase was investigated by X-ray methods; there is a high solubility of β-Ga₂O₃ in the spinel lattice.The growth of the thickness of the reaction layer follows a parabolic rate law, and therefore a diffusion process must be rate determining. The activation energy of the rate controlling step is 82 kcal/mole.Pt-marker experiments are not sufficient for determining the reaction mechanism. Investigations with an electron-probe microanalyzer, an connection with a modified marker technique, resulted in a Wagner-mechanism of counterdiffusion of cations for formation of nickel-gallium spinel; the total amount in Ga³⁺ ions is lost for spinel formation before there is an appreciable solubility of gallium in NiO.     

Zur Kinetik der Spinellbildung von β-Ga2O3 mit zweiwertigen Oxiden. IV. Reaktionen 2. Art im System CoO-β-Ga2O3

The solid-state reaction of the second kind in a sandwich type diffusion couple of $\text{Co}{}_{\mathrm{1?z}}\text{Ga}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>2z</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}\text{O}$ and β-Ga₂O₃ has been investigated between 1249 and 1550°C in air. The quantity z, which corresponds to the saturation concentration of β-Ga₂O₃ in CoO, was determined as a function of temperature by X-ray methods and the optical microscope; the homogeneity range of the spinel phase $\text{Co}{}_{\mathrm{1?y}}\text{Ga}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>2+</mtext><mtext>2y</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}\text{O}{}_4$ was investigated also. The growth of the thickness of the reaction layer follows a parabolic rate law; the activation energy is 71.6 kcal/mole. A comparison of reaction rate constants of the first and second kind in connection with experimental results, achieved with a modified marker technique, leads to confirmation of the Wagner mechanism for the formation of CoGa₂O₄ spinel as supposed before by Laqua. Reaction rate constants of the second kind, calculated from interdiffusion profiles in CoO-β-Ga₂O₃ diffusion couples, are in good agreement with experimental values. Presented data are used for estimating interdiffusion coefficients for the CoO-β-Ga₂O₃ system according to theoretical aspects developed by Pelton, Schmalzried, and Greskovich.     

On the kinetics of polymer degradation in solution—I. Laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis studies using the light scattering detection method

An apparatus for measuring the time dependence of light scattering intensity (LSI) in the μsec range was developed. Using this equipment, the degradation of polyphenylvinylketone (PPVK) in benzene solution and that of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) in acetone solution were investigated at room temperature. PPVK was irradiated with 25 nsec flashes of 3471 Å light and PMMA with 2 μsec pulses of 15 MeV electrons. The following results were obtained:PPVK: the quantum yield for main chain scission φ(S) is 0·4–·6. Quencher experiments yielded Stern-Volmer constants which agree with literature data. Half lives ($\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$) of the change of LSI amount to about 20 μsec and are not influenced by quenchers. The dependence on molecular weight M? is $\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{∝}\text{M}{}^{\mathrm{0·22\; \pm \; 0·02}}$. It is assumed that $\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ corresponds to disentanglement diffusion. Oxygen has no influence on φ(S) and $\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>d2</mtext>}}$.PMMA: the G-value is about 2 for oxygen-free solutions and 0·7 in the presence of O₂. The time dependence of LSI is significantly influenced by oxygen and presumably determined by the life time of activated centres in the polymer chains. From the decay curves, evidence was obtained for two different intermediates: one decaying rapidly with $\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{< 100 μ}\text{sec}$, the other decaying relatively slowly with $\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{= 4·0±0·2}\text{msec}$ (rate constant: 170/sec. The slowly decaying species is scavenged completely by oxygen and is presumably a macroradical whereas the fast decay might indicate a scission process via excited states.     

Diffusion of point defects participating in solid-phase chemical reactions (trap diffusion): Demonstration for the Ti3+ → Ti4+ transition in corundum

A problem of trap diffusion, that is diffusion of point defects in crystals participating in a solid-phase chemical reaction with motionless impurity ions, is solved. Time dependences of the reaction-front displacement, X_f, and its steepness, $\text{(}\text{?C}\text{?X}\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{f}}$ are determined analytically for N₀ ? C₀ and numerically for all relations of N₀ and C₀$\text{x}{}_{\mathrm{f}}{}^2\text{=2}\text{N}{}_0\text{C}{}_0\text{Dt; (}\text{ac}\text{ax}\text{)}{}_{\mathrm{f}}\text{=0.3C}{}_0{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{(}\text{g}\text{D}\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2></mtext>}}$where C₀ and N₀ are the initial concentration of impurity and the eqilibrium defect concentration, respectively, D is a diffusion coefficient, and g is a chemical reaction constant. Dependence of X_f vs C₀ and t is confirmed for oxygen annealing of corundum crystals doped with titanium which, reacting with the point defects, changes its valency. The data are obtained for dependence of displacement X_f upon partial oxygen pressure and thermotreatment temperature as well as upon the sign of the constant electric field applied to the sample. From these data we conclude that the reaction of titanium impurity, changing from the three-valent to the tetravalent state at the activation energy of 80 ± 8.5 kcal/mole is due to anisotropic diffusion of charged aluminum vacancy and holes in the valence band. The diffusion coefficient for that process at 1500°C is estimated to be larger than 10^?5 cm²/sec. Using the trap-diffusion features, the concentration of optical centers of the 0.315-μm absorption band in ruby is also estimated.     

Nonstoichiometry and defect structure of the perovskite-type oxides La1−xSrxFeO3−°

In order to elucidate the defect structure of the perovskite-type oxide solid solution La_1?xSr_xFeO_3?δ (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.4, and 0.6), the nonstoichiometry, δ, was measured as a function of oxygen partial pressure, P_O2, at temperatures up to 1200°C by means of the thermogravimetric method. Below 200°C and in an atmosphere of P_O2 ≥ 0.13 atm, δ in La_1?xSr_xFeO_3?δ was found to be close to 0. With decreasing log P_O2, δ increased and asymptotically reached $\text{x}\text{2}$. The value corresponding to $\text{δ =}\text{x}\text{2}$ was about ?10 at 1000°C. With further decrease in log P_O2, δ slightly increased. For LaFeO_3?δ, the observed δ values were as small as <0.015. It was found that the relation between δ and log P_O2 is interpreted on the basis of the defect equilibrium among Sr′_La (or V?_La for the case of LaFeO_3?δ), V^··_O, Fe′_Fe, and Fe^·_Fe. Calculations were made for the equilibrium constants K_ox of the reaction

$\text{1}\text{2}\text{O}{}_2\text{(g) + V}{}^{\mathrm{··}}{}_{\mathrm{o}}\text{+ 2Fe}{}^{\mathrm{x}}{}_{\mathrm{Fe}}\text{= O}{}^{\mathrm{x}}{}_{\mathrm{o}}\text{+ 2Fe}{}^{\mathrm{·}}{}_{\mathrm{Fe}}$

and K_i for the reaction

$\text{2Fe}{}^{\mathrm{x}}{}_{\mathrm{Fe}}\text{= Fe}{}^{\mathrm{\prime }}{}_{\mathrm{Fe}}\text{+ Fe}{}^{\mathrm{·}}{}_{\mathrm{Fe·}}$

Using these constants, the defect concentrations were calculated as functions of P_O2, temperature, and composition x. The present results are discussed with respect to previously reported results of conductivity measurements.     

The reaction of nitric oxide with vibrationally excited ozone

The reaction between nitric oxide and vibrationally excited ozone was studied in a fast flow reactor by monitoring the visible emission from electronically excited NO₂¹. The antisymmetric mode (ν₃) of O₃ was excited with a Q-switched 9.6 μm CO₂ laser, and a laser-induced signal was detected, with a rise rate constant of (4.0 ± 0.5) × 10¹¹ cm³/mole sec and a decay rate constant of (1.1 ± 0.1) × 10¹¹ cm³/mole sec for an NO-rich mixture. The latter was unaffected by addition of large amounts of He or Ar, indicating that the signal was not a thermal effect. Most of the measurements were made at 350°K; however, the He and Ar dilution results suggest that the enhanced reaction rate is not very sensitive to temperature. In order to explain the observed rise times, it was necessary to postulate an intermediate step prior to the chemical reaction. A model which is consistent with our data has energy transferred from ν₃ to ν₂ (the bending mode) at a rate of (2.9 ± 0.5) × 10¹¹ cm³/mole sec for NO and a rate of (1.1 ± 0.2) × 10¹¹ cm³/mole sec for He. According to this model, the rate constant for the reaction of NO with O₃ (ν₂= 1) producing vibrationally excited ground state NO₂²,

$\text{NO + O}{}_3{}^2\text{(010)}\text{3}\text{NO}{}_2{}^2\text{+ O}{}_2$

is (1.5 ± 0.2) × 10¹¹ cm³/mole sec, and the relative rate for the reaction of O₃ (ν₂ = 1) and O₃(ν₂ = 0) with NO was estimated to be $\text{k}{}_3\text{(1)}\text{k}{}_3\text{(0)}\text{≈ 22}$.     

Absolute bestimmung der molekulargewichtsverteilung von anionisch und radikalisch polymerisierten polystyrolen durch lichtstreuung

The scattering function P₀ for classical elastic light scattering is specified for several molecular weight distribution functions (Schulz-, Square root-, Maxwell-, Normal-, Poisson-, Logarithmic-normal-distribution function). Precision measurements on anionic polymerized polystyrene from Pressure Chemical Co. $\text{(}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{w}}\text{= 2 · 10}{}^6\text{and}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{w}}\text{= 6,7 · 10}{}^6\text{)}$ and radical initiated polystyrene were performed in transdecalin with the light scattering photometer Fica 50. Comparison of experimental results with theoretical curves indicate that the anionic polystyrenes exhibit a broader distribution than given by Pressure Chemical Co. The distribution of the radical polystyrene conforms with distributions found by other methods.     

A new tungsten trioxide hydrate, WO3 · 13H2O: Preparation,characterization, and crystallographic study

A new hydrate of tungsten trioxide, $\text{WO}{}_3\text{·}\text{1}\text{3}\text{H}{}_2\text{O}$ has been obtained by hydrothermal treatment at 120°C of an aqueous suspension of either tungstic acid gel or crystallized dihydrate. This hydrate has been characterized by different methods. A crystallographic study was carried out from X-ray powder diffraction. The hydrate crystallizes in the orthorhombic system: a = 7.359(3) Å, b = 12.513(6) Å, c = 7.704(5) Å, Z = 12. The existence of structural relationships between the hydrate, $\text{WO}{}_3\text{·}\text{1}\text{3}\text{H}{}_2\text{O}$, and the product of dehydration, hexagonal WO₃, has permitted us to propose a structural model in agreement with the experimental data. $\text{WO}{}_3\text{·}\text{1}\text{3}\text{H}{}_2\text{O}$ must be regarded as an interesting compound because its dehydration leads to a new anhydrous tungsten trioxide, hexagonal WO₃.     

Gibbs energy of formation of cobalt divanadium tetroxide

The Gibbs energy of formation of V₂O₃-saturated spinel CoV₂O₄ has been measured in the temperature range 900–1700 K using a solid state galvanic cell, which can be represented as $\text{Pt, Co + CoV}{}_2\text{O}{}_4\text{+}\text{V}{}_2\text{O}{}_3\text{(CaO)}\text{ZrO}{}_2\text{Co}\text{+}\text{CoO, Pt}$. The standard free energy of formation of cobalt vanadite from component oxides can be represented as CoO (rs) + V₂O₃ (cor) → CoV₂O₄ (sp), ΔG° = ?30,125 ? 5.06T (± 150) J mole^?1. Cation mixing on crystallographically nonequivalent sites of the spinel is responsible for the decrease in free energy with increasing temperature. A correlation between “second law” entropies of formation of cubic 2–3 spinels from component oxides with rock salt and corundum structures and cation distribution is presented. Based on the information obtained in this study and trends in the stability of aluminate and chromite spinels, it can be deduced that copper vanadite is unstable.     

The structure of a barium niobium silicon oxide with the probable composition Ba6+xNb14Si4O47 (x ⋍ 0.23)

Reaction of BaO, Nb₂O₅, and Nb in mole ratios of 2.4:1.6:1 in an evacuated silica capsule at 1250°C produces a mixture of at least two products, one of which has the probable composition $\text{Ba}{}_{\mathrm{6+x}}\text{Nb}{}_{14}\text{Si}{}_4\text{O}{}_{47}\text{(x ? 0.23)}$. This compound has an hexagonal unit cell of dimensions a = 9,034 ± 0.004 Å, c = 27.81 ± 0.02 Å, probable space group $\text{P6}{}_3\text{mcm}\text{, Z = 2}$. Its structure has been determined from 942 independent reflections collected by a counter technique and refined by least squares methods to a conventional R value of 0.062. The basic structure consists of strings of four NbO₆ octahedra sharing opposite corners, each string joined to the next by edge sharing of the end octahedra, so that the c axis corresponds to the length of a strand of seven corner-linked octahedra. Chains of three such strands are formed by corner sharing between the strands. The chains in turn are joined by NbO₆ octahedra and Si₂O₇ groups in which the SiOSi linkage is linear. Barium atoms are in sites between the chains coordinated by 13 oxygen atoms. A second site, 15 coordinated, probably has a small amount of barium as well; the fractional occupancy for barium in this site is 0.076.     

Thermal degradation study of isotactic polypropylene using factor-jump thermogravimetry

The degradation of isotactic polypropylene in the range 390–465°C was studied using factor-jump thermogravimetry. The degradations were carried out in vacuum and at pressures of 5 and 800 mm Hg of N₂, flowing at 100–400 standard mL/s. At 800 mm Hg this corresponds to linear rates of 1–4 mm/s. In vacuum bubbling in the sample caused problems in measuring the rate of weight loss. The apparent activation energy was estimated as 61.5 ± 0.8 kcal/mol (257 ± 3 kJ/mol). In slowly flowing N₂ at 800 mm Hg pressure the activation energy was 55.1 ± 0.2 kcal/mol (230 ± 0.8 kJ/mol) for isotactic polypropylene and 51.1 ± 0.5 kcal/mol (214 ± 2 kJ/mol) for a naturally aged sample of atactic polypropylene. For isotactic polypropylene degrading at an external N₂ pressure of 5 mm Hg the apparent activation energy was 55.9 ± 0.3 kcal/mol (234 ± 1 kJ/mol). A simplified degradation mechanism was used with estimates of the activation energies of initiation and termination to give an estimate of 29.6 kcal/mol for the ß-scission of tertiary radicals on the polypropylene backbone. Initiation was considered to be backbone scission ß to allyl groups formed in the termination reaction. For initiation by random scission of the polymer backbone, as in the early stages of thermal degradation, an overall activation energy of 72 kcal/mol is proposed. The difference between vacuum and in-N₂ activation energies is ascribed to the latent heat contributions of molecules which do not evaporate as soon as they are formed. At these imposed rates of weight loss the average molecular weights of the volatiles in vacuum and in 8 and 800 mm H_g N₂ are in the ratios 1–1/2–1/9.     

The thermal polymerization of styrene at temperatures up to 250°

The kinetics of the thermal polymerization of styrene have been studied over the range 60–250°. The overall energy of activation was 86 ± 2 kJ/mole, a value identical to that obtained for the thermal polymerization of styrene in diethyl adipate. As expected, the molecular weight of the polymer decreases with increase in the temperature of the polymerization, and the ratio $\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>w</mtext>}}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>n</mtext>}}$ becomes greater than 2 for polymer formed at above 140°. The plot of log ($\text{1}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>n</mtext>}}$) against (absolute temperature)^?1 can be represented by two straight lines yielding 24.5 and 32,0 kJ/mole for the activation energies at temperatures below 120° and above 140°, respectively. The former value is in keeping with the molecular weight being controlled by chain transfer with monomer; the latter value would be that expected if the termination process controls the molecular weight of the polymer. Mark Houwink relationships between intrinsic viscosity and $\text{M}$_n and $\text{M}$_w have been found to apply to polymer samples when the molecular weight averages were determined by osmometry and by light scattering. However, deviations were found for low molecular weight material when measured using gel permeation chromatography. The K values were considerably lower, and the α values higher than reported in the literature.