Thermal decomposition of scandium(III) benzenetricarboxylates in air and nitrogen atmospheres

The conditions of thermal decomposition of scandium(III) hemimellitate, trimellitate and trimezinate in air and nitrogen atmospheres have been studied. On heating, the benzene-tricarboxylates of Sc(III) decompose in two stages. First, the hydrated complexes lose crystallization water; heating in air finally yields Sc₂O₃, and heating in a nitrogen atmosphere Sc₂O₃ and C. The dehydration of the complexes is associated with strong endothermic effects. The decomposition of benzenetricarboxylates in air is accompanied by an exothermic effect and in nitrogen by an endothermic effect. The activation energies of the dehydration and decomposition reactions have been calculated for the Sc(III) benzenetricarboxylates.