The influence of various factors on the kinetics of the reaction between copper(I) chloride and germanium

Abstract

The kinetics of the reaction between CuCl and Ge powders has been studied under vacuum by means of thermogravimetry in the range 226–274 °C. The reactivity of the Ge/CuCl system is affected significantly by the mixing operation, the thickness of the GeO 2 film on the Ge particles and the proportion of Ge and CuCl in the mixture. It is established that the kinetics is governed by a nucleation-growth mechanism with an apparent activation energy of 75 ± 3 kJ mol −1Cu 3Ge, Cu 5Ge and Cu were identified as reaction products and a successive reaction mechanism is proposed with Cu as the final phase.