Electronic Processes in the Initiation of Fast Decomposition

It is often considered, with respect to the initiation and growth of reaction, that the roles of thermal and photochemical processes are opposed. That this is not the case can be seen from the following. One can, for example, initiate slow decomposition thermally and the reaction can at first proceed in a manner such that the heat released is utilized in the subsequent growth of the reaction. How- 

There are, of course, numerous options of this type, the conventional points of view tending to stress the role of thermal excitations (in basically invariant electronic structures), thermomechanical processes, or tribochemical mechanisms. 

The point of view stressing the role of electronic excitations in a lattice of variable band structure had its genesis in the theoretical work of Williams [11]. The concepts are summarized below, and are followed by a review of the pertinent experimental evidence. A new initiation effect that depends explicitly on electronic properties is discussed, and a model for it presented. Related field-initiation experiments and their interpretation are also reviewed. The discussion draws heavily on the content of Chapters 5 and 7. 

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