The effect of sampling conditions on the thermal decomposition of electrolytic manganese dioxide

The effect of sampling conditions on the decomposition of electrolytic manganese dioxide using thermal methods is reported. Significant differences were observed in the mechanism of the decomposition by simply changing the reaction environment from a closed pan to an open pan configuration. The purge gas atmosphere was also observed to influence the decomposition mechanism. As a product of the decomposition is oxygen, the change in the mechanism observed between the experimental conditions may be explained in terms of the ease of removal of oxygen from the reaction site. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.