The effect of heating rate upon the coupling of complex reactions. I. Independent and competitive reactions

Abstract

Theoretical curves of the rate of conversion vs. temperature at constant heating rate for first-order reactions with activation energies of 80, 160, 240 and 320 kJ mole −1 are compared over a range of heating rates from 10 −9 to 10 5 K s −1 for independent and competitive reactions. Independent reactions with different activation energies may be separated from one another by either increasing or decreasing the rate of heating. The spectrum of derivative peaks for two competing reactions at various heating rates has a dispersion effect in the region of change from low to high activation energy reactions. The practical range of heating rates in thermal analytical experiments and the application of these model cases to the understanding of the kinetics of complex systems at high and low temperatures are discussed.