Thermal Kinetics and Analysis of Solid-State Reactions

Thermal kinetics of solid-state reactions explores the rates and mechanisms by which reactants confined in the solid phase transform under controlled temperature programmes. Heat supplied to a crystalline lattice propagates by conduction and may activate diffusion of ions, vacancies or defects, leading to phase changes, decomposition or synthesis. Common experimental techniques include differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), which record heat flow or mass loss as a function of temperature. Kinetic evaluation often seeks the “kinetic triplet”—activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction model—using either model-based or model-free (isoconversional) methods. Classic non-isothermal protocols, such as the Kissinger and Ozawa–Flynn–Wall approaches, exploit multiple heating rates to derive temperature dependence without imposing a reaction model. Advances in data analytics and high-resolution sensors have enhanced the precision of kinetic parameter extraction and enabled real-time monitoring of solid-state processes. Applications span the controlled synthesis of ceramics and alloys, phase transformations in pharmaceuticals, stability of energetic materials and optimisation of battery electrodes, where an accurate understanding of thermal behaviour is essential for performance, safety and scale-up.

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Thermal Kinetics and Analysis of Solid-State Reactions publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermal kinetics and analysis of solid-state reactions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Activation energy: The minimum energy barrier that must be overcome for a solid-state reaction to proceed.

Isoconversional analysis: A model-free method to derive kinetic parameters at fixed degrees of conversion by comparing results across different heating rates.

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): A technique that measures heat flow into or out of a sample as its temperature is varied.

Thermal inertia: The resistance of a sample and its experimental setup to rapid temperature changes, which can delay heat flow measurements.

Arrhenius equation: A mathematical relation, k = A exp(–E/RT), describing how the rate constant k depends on temperature T, where E is activation energy and A the pre-exponential factor.

Kissinger method: A non-isothermal approach that evaluates activation energy from the shift of reaction peak temperature observed at different heating rates.

References

1. Dynamic Character of Thermal Analysis Where Thermal Inertia Is a Real and Not Negligible Effect Influencing the Evaluation of Non-Isothermal Kinetics: A Review. Thermo (2021).
2. Where did you come from and where are you heading to, thermal analysis of heating effects?. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2023).