Thermal decompositions of formates. Part IV. Thermal dehydrations of Mg(II), Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) formate dihydrates

The thermal dehydrations of formate dihydrates of Mg(II), Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) were studied by means of thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry in air.The reaction orders of dehydration obtained by the dynamic and the static methods were found to be 2/3 for all the salts examined, which indicated that the rate of dehydration was controlled by a chemical process at a phase boundary. This was confirmed by microscopic observation.The values of activation energy, frequency factor and the enthalpy change of dehydration for all salts examined, were 21–30 kcal mole^?1, 10¹⁰-10¹² sec^?1 and 28–31 kcal mole^?1, respectively.The temperature at which the dehydration occurred was regarded as a measure of the strength of the metalOH₂ bond, and this temperature increased with increasing the reciprocal of the radius of the metallic ion.