Kinetics of hexagonal–cubic phase transformation of zinc sulfide in vacuo, in zinc vapor, and in sulfur vapor

Abstract

The kinetics of the hexagonal–cubic phase transformation of zinc sulfide have been studied in vacuo, in zinc vapor, and in sulfur vapor in the temperature range 800–900 °C by a powder X-ray diffraction technique. The transformation rate is enhanced in the presence of sulfur and zinc vapor. In vacuo and in sulfur vapor the reaction is nucleation-controlled with activation energies of 95.0 and 98.5 ± 5 kcal, respectively. In zinc vapor the reaction is diffusion-controlled with the diffusion coefficient expressed as[Formula: see text]The modes of catalytic action by sulfur and zinc vapor on the solid phase transformation reaction are discussed.