Application of Mass-spectrometry to the Study of the Decomposition Kinetics and Mechanisms of Solids

The application of mass-spectrometry to the study of the decomposition kinetics and mechanisms of solids is discussed. Different designs of equipment and experimental procedures for studying the kinetics and the mechanism of the primary and the secondary processes in the decomposition of solids are described, and their relative advantages are analysed. Conditions likely to clarify specific aspects of universal importance to the decomposition of solids are formulated, and the advantages of dynamic mass-spectrometry in this type of study are stressed. The most important results of mass-spectrometric experiments on the kinetics and mechanism of the decomposition of solids are reviewed, including the thermal decomposition of inorganic solids, high-temperature reactions involved in the decomposition of solid propellants, the thermal and mechanical degradation of polymers, and other illustrations of the possibilities of the method.
73 references.