Practical Thermogravimetry

The well-known divergence between the present ‘state of the art’ of thermogravimetry and industrial requirements is discussed. Sources of errors are analyzed and the optimization of measuring conditions is discussed regarding the problems associated with static and dynamic (flow) atmospheres, and interactions between materials and gases or vapors. Recommendations for gas-flow control systems and vapor sources are given. Thermal stability and the kinetics of gas-evolving, reversible, thermal decompositions of solids are discussed. The scope of TG-derived kinetics for practical use is examined. Some new characteristic points of TG curves are proposed and defined, e.g. ‘procedure-independent decomposition temperature’ and ‘augmented decomposition temperature’ (obtained at pseudo-equilibrium conditions). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Calculation of activation energies using the sinusoidally modulated temperature

Activation energy is calculated from a single curve of a derivative of mass loss perturbed by a sinusoidal modulation of a temperature-time relationship. The method is based on a prediction of a hypothetical derivative of mass loss that corresponds to the absence of this modulation (perturbation). Simple considerations show that the unperturbed derivative coincides with the modulated derivative at inflection points of the modulated temperature-time relationship. The ratio of the perturbed and unperturbed derivatives at the points of time corresponding to maxima and minima of the sinusoidal component of the modulated temperature immediately leads to activation energy. Accuracy of the method grows with decreasing in the amplitude of the modulation. All illustrations are prepared numerically. It makes possible to objectively test the method and to investigate its errors. Two-stage decomposition kinetics with two independent (parallel) reactions is considered as an example. The kinetic parameters are chosen so that the derivative of mass loss would represent two overlapping peaks. The errors are introduced into the modulated derivative by the random-number generator with the normal distribution. Standard deviation for the random allocation of errors is selected with respect to maximum of the derivative. If the maximum of the derivative is observed within the region from 200 to 600°C and the amplitude of the temperature modulation is equal to 5°C, the error in the derivative 0.5% leads to the error in activation energy being equal to 2-6 kJ mol^-1. As the derivative vanishes, the error grows and tends to infinity in the regions of the start and end of decomposition. With the absolute error 0.5% evaluations of activation energy are impossible beyond the region from 5 to 95% of mass loss. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Determination of the Kinetic Parameters of Chemical Reactions on the Basis of Non-Isothermal Measurements A critical review

A detailed analysis is presented of the applicability of several dependences commonly used for the determination of activation energies from non-isothermal measurements. Reactions proceeding according to different kinetic equations are simulated and the validity of the activation energy values obtained is discussed. The general conclusion is drawn that none of the examined dependences should be used to determine the activation energy. For a rough estimation of activation energy, the Kissinger equation can be applied according to Ockham's razor. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Thermal Decomposition of BaC2O4·0.5H2O Studied by Stepwise Isothermal Analysis and Non-Isothermal Thermogravimetry

Thermal decomposition of BaC2O4·0.5H2O in air was studied by a combination of stepwise isothermal analysis (SIA) and non-isothermal thermogravimetry. The results from both techniques show that the crystal water is released in one step and that anhydrous barium oxalate is decomposed in one step, while BaCO3 decomposes in three steps to BaO, forming two intermediate compounds with the formulas of BaCO3·(BaO)2 and (BaCO3)0.5·(BaO)2.5. Reaction mechanism analyses using the data from SIA measurements show that the controlling mechanism for all the five decomposition steps in isothermal conditions is a two-dimensional phase-boundary controlled process. Kinetic parameters are obtained for the five decomposition steps from the non-isothermal thermogravimetric data. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetic of Regeneration of Coked Alumina by Thermogravimetry

Thermogravimetry is used for regeneration of the alumina catalyst which was deactivated by coke, formed in the transformation of 1,3-butadiene in a fixed bed continuous flow reactor. The Vyazovkin model-free kinetic analysis has been applied to data on thermal oxidation of carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst. This analysis has allowed us to estimate the activation energy (E) as a function of α (conversion) and to predict the time required to remove coke at a given temperature. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Obtaining Modulated Temperature DSC Curves Through a Non-conventional DSC Method

The DSC curve obtained in conventional equipment usually only shows the resultant thermal effect due to simultaneous phenomena, which may occur during isothermal or dynamic analyses. This does not allow one to identify the processes properly and may cause an erroneous interpretation of the resulting curves. Modulated DSC equipment enhances the operating conditions and the analysis capacity of conventional DSC by superimposing a sinusoidal temperature modulation on the linear temperature control. Thus reversing and non-reversing heat flow curves are obtained, which are, respectively, the heat capacity and kinetic components of the DSC curve. Therefore, events that are related to these components can be separately analyzed. A method to obtain curves similar to the MDSC reversing and non-reversing components was developed using conventional DSC equipment in a non-conventional way. It was applied to analyze samples of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) taken from bottles of mineral water. The second PET crystallization step that occurs during its melting was quantified and an apparent initial crystallinity was obtained from the resulting data. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetic Analysis of the Decomposition of Chelates of Di-alkyldithiocarbamate of Cd(II)

The thermal decomposition kinetics of the solid complexes Cd(S₂ CNR₂ )₂ , where R =C₂ H₅ , n -C₃ H₇ , n -C₄ H₉ or iso -C₄ H₉ , was studied by using isothermal and non-isothermal thermogravimetry. The superimposed TG/DTG/DSC curves revealed that thermal decomposition reactions occur in the liquid phase. The kinetic model that best fitted the experimental isothermal TG data was the one-dimensional phase-boundary reaction-controlled process R₁ . The thermal analysis data suggested the thermal stability sequence Cd(S₂ CNBuⁿ ₂ )₂ >Cd(S₂ CNPrⁿ ₂ )₂ >Cd(S₂ CNBuⁱ ₂ )₂ >Cd(S₂ CNEt₂ )₂ , which accords with the sequence of stability of the apparent activation energies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Use of Modulated Temperature Programs in Thermal Methods

Temperature modulation has long been used in various aspects of thermal methods. Historically, the principle areas of application have been the determination of kinetic parameters using variants of the temperature jump method and the measurement of heat capacity by AC calorimetry. More recently the introduction of temperature modulation in a variety of techniques has been used in combination with deconvolution algorithms to separate sample responses that are dependent on rate of change of temperature from those principally dependent on temperature. Finally, temperature modulation is important in the new field of micro-thermal analysis. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Thermal Decomposition Kinetics of Some Di‐ and Triorganotin(IV) Carboxylates Derived from para‐Nitrophenylethanoic Acid

Thermogravimetric (TG) investigations of organotin(IV) carboxylates with the general formula R_mSnL_4−m (where R=CH₃, C₂H₅, n‐C₄H₉, C₆H₅, cyclo‐C₆H₁₁, n‐C₈H₁₇, m=2, 3, and L=para‐nitrophenylethanoate anion) have been performed. Derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) techniques, Horowitz‐Metzger method and the fundamental thermodynamic relations are used to evaluate the thermokinetic parameters of each thermal degradation pattern. Results reveal that the thermal stability is functional to Sn C and Sn O bonds. In the case of R₂SnL₂, activation energy, reaction order and pre‐exponential factor associated with the bulk degradation processes increase as the alkane chain length increases. Hence, Oct₂SnL₂ is thermally more stable than Bu₂SnL₂, which in turn is more resistant to thermal dissociation than Et₂SnL₂. The same phenomenon is not observed for R₃SnL compounds because their degradation is highly irregular. Furthermore, R₂SnL₂ has larger values of kinetic parameters than those of corresponding triorganotin(IV) para‐nitrophenylethanotes. Thermodynamic parameters of these compounds also reinforce the above facts.     

Evaluation of the Alpo-11 Crystallinity by Thermogravimetry

The evaluation of the crystallinity of several samples of ALPO-11 was performed by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry. Through XRD, the degrees of crystallinity of the samples were determined by the measurement of the area of the peaks at 2γ ranging from 20.7 to 24.1 degrees. The sample that presented the largest area was considered as 100% crystalline and the areas of the other samples were normalized in relation to this. From TG, the degree of crystallinity was determined considering the mass loss in the temperature range from 453 to 653 K that is related to remotion of di-isopropylamine molecules used during the synthesis procedure. The quantity of diisopropylamine on the material is proportional to the degree of crystallinity. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Study of Thermal Decomposition Kinetics of Low-temperature Reaction of Ammonium Perchlorate by Isothermal TG

The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate at temperatures between 215 and 260°C is studied, in this work, by measuring the sample mass loss as a function of time applying the isothermal thermogravimetric method. From the maximum decomposition rate – temperature dependence two different decomposition stages, corresponding to two different structural phases of ammonium perchlorate, are identified. For the first region (215–235°C), corresponding to the orthorhombic phase, the mean value of the activation energy of 146.3 kJ mol^–1, and the pre-exponential factor of 3.43⋅10¹⁴ min^–1 are obtained, whereas for the second region (240–260°C), corresponding to the cubic phase, the mean value of the activation energy of153.3 kJ mol^–1, and the pre-exponential factor of 4.11⋅10¹⁴ min^–1 are obtained. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Estimation of Flame Retardancy Effect by Thermal Analysis Using Kinetic Parameters Obtained under Non-Isothermal Conditions in Air

A series of compounds obtained from urea, phosphoric acid and inorganic salts of Zn, Ni and Ca, were tested in respect of their flame‐retardancy behavior. The estimation criteria were the kinetic parameters obtained in air, under non‐isothermal conditions, on a Perkin‐Elmer Diamond device, at heating rates of 5, 10, 12 and 15 deg·min^?1. The flame‐retardancy effect was assigned to the significant endothermic decomposition at relatively low temperature (150–200°C). The quantitative estimation of the thermal behavior was performed by comparison of the kinetic data obtained by Flyn‐Wall‐Ozawa, Friedman and NPK (Sempere‐Nomen) methods. The kinetic homogeneity and a very good quality of the model are arguments in favour of the NPK method. The Ni containing material exhibited the best flame‐retardancy behavior, i.e. higher activation energy and mass loss, respectively a single decomposition step with both physical and chemical processes. The results were validated by fire resistance tests.     

纳米氧化铜的粒度对多相反应动力学参数的影响

本文提出了纳米体系多相反应动力学活化能的模型，并以纳米氧化铜与硫酸氢钠溶液的反应为体系，研究了反应物粒度对动力学参数的影响规律，讨论了表观活化能降低的原因。结果表明：反应物粒度对多相反应的反应级数、速率常数、表观活化能和指前因子均有较大的影响；随着反应物粒径的减小，表观活化能和指前因子减小,而反应级数和速率常数增大，并且速率常数和表观活化能与反应物粒径的倒数呈线性关系；这些影响规律与理论模型是一致的。另外，还发现反应物粒度是通过摩尔表面积、摩尔表面能和摩尔表面熵影响多相反应的动力学参数的。     

Comments on multiple publications reporting single heating rate kinetics

This note alerts one to multiple Applied Organometallic Chemistry publications that report the single heating rate kinetics for thermal decomposition of organometallic compounds. It is stressed that the single heating rate approach is known to produce erroneous kinetic parameters. Its use is also against the recommendations of the International Confederation for Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry that advises the multiple heating rate approach to be used instead. Examples of the failure are provided and an appeal is made to the community for adopting the multiple heating rate approach.     

Thermal Decompositions of (RE)Ba2Cu3O6 (RE=Y,Nd, Er)

Thermogravimetric in situ measurements of oxygen loss from (RE)Ba₂Cu₃O₆ samples (RE=Y, Nd, Er) heated isothermally in a relatively high dynamic vacuum were made with a Cahn RG electrobalance. Single-phase orthorhombic samples of composition (RE)Ba₂Cu₃O_7-x (highest oxygen content) were synthesized from stoichiometric (1:2:3) mixtures of high-purity (RE)₂O₃, BaCO₃ and CuO. The original 1:2:3 mixture was prepared by the two-stage procedure described earlier. The crystal structure of the sample in the original orthorhombic phase was controlled by the X-ray powder method (CuKα radiation) using a Stadi P Stoe diffractometer with a position-sensitive detector. The decomposition curves are described by the sum of exponential terms corresponding to rapid and slow first-order processes in which differently sized grains of the powder samples are involved. The activation energies are estimated from appropriate Arrhenius plots. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Kinetic Analysis of Thermogravimetric Data XXXI. Derivation of a non-linear kinetic compensation law

The kinetic compensation effect observed in heterogeneous non-isothermal kinetics is only an apparent effect. In general, the correlation derived between the kinetic parameters E and log A from TG curves can be described by means of a non-linear compensation law, expressed by Eq. (14). This equation may become approximately linear in certain particular cases, i.e. it may change into an isokinetic relation. The validity of the non-linear compensation law has been tested by using over 1000 sets of kinetic parameters reported earlier. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of DSC Measurement Conditions on Kinetic Parameters of Thermal Decomposition of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

An autocatalytic model involving the limited solubility of volatile catalytic products was applied to the thermal decomposition of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. The critical supersaturation of the thermal decomposition products with the catalytic properties was higher at a low heating rate. Decrease of the sample mass led to an increased critical supersaturation of the decomposition products. This is probably a result of the greater contribution of products adsorption on the aluminium pan surface. It is presumed that the differences observed in the rate constant are connected with the uncontrolled critical supersaturation of the volatile thermal decomposition products. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Thermal studies of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes of N,N′-<Emphasis Type="Italic">bis</Emphasis>(3,5-Di-<Emphasis Type="Italic">t</Emphasis>-butylsalicylidene)ethylenediamine

The thermal decomposition kinetics of sterically hindered salen type ligand (L) and its metal complexes [M=Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II)] were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. A direct insertion probe-mass spectrometer (DIP-MS) was used for the characterization of metal complexes of L and all fragmentations and stable ions were characterized. The thermogravimetry and differential thermogravimetry (TG-DTG) plots of salen type salicylaldimine ligand and complexes showed a single step. The kinetic analysis of thermogravimetric data was performed by using the invariant kinetic parameter method (IKP). The values of the invariant activation energy, E _inv and the invariant pre-exponential factor, A _inv, were calculated by using Coats-Redfern (CR) method. The thermal stabilities and activation energies of metal complexes of sterically hindered salen type ligand (L) were found as Co(II)>Cu(II)>Ni(II)>L and E _Cu>E _Ni>E _Co>L. Also, the probabilities of decomposition functions were investigated. The diffusion functions (D _n) are most probable for the thermal decomposition of all complexes.     

The Use of Thermogravimetry in the Study of Rubber Devulcanization

Thermogravimetry was employed to study the changes occurring in rubber vulcanizates during devulcanization carried out by microwave treatment, a new promising method of recycling rubber waste. The thermogravimetric parameters T _i , T ₅ and T _p and the compositions of devulcanizates in comparison with vulcanizates were determined. The results obtained allowed estimation of the degree of destruction of the polymer chains in response to microwave treatment and permitted establishment of the most advantageous conditions of devulcanization in order to obtain the best properties of rubber devulcanizates for reuse in rubber processing. The results demonstrated that thermogravimetry is a very useful method for investigation and control of the microwave devulcanization process. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.