Shock-Induced Solid State Chemical Synthesis

4 Shock-Induced Solid State Chemical Synthesis 

This chapter presents detailed and thorough studies of chemical synthesis in three quite different chemical systems zinc ferrite, intermetallic, and metal oxide. In addition to different reaction types (oxide-oxide, metal-metal, and metal oxide), the systems have quite different heats of reaction. The oxide-oxide system has no heat of reaction, while the intermetallic has a significant, but modest, heat of reaction. The metal oxide system has a very large heat of reaction. The various observations appear to be consistent with the proposed conceptual models involving configuration, activation, mixing, and heating required to describe the mechanisms of shock-induced solid state chemistry. 

Shock Compression of Solids as a Mechanical, Physical, Chemical Process 

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Fig. 8.1. Shock-induced solid state chemical synthesis of a zinc ferrite has been studied over a wide range of temperature and pressure. The figure shows the location of conditions for which the reaction has been studied.

Intermetallics also represent an ideal system for study of shock-induced solid state chemical synthesis processes. The materials are technologically important such that a large body of literature on their properties is available. Aluminides are a well known class of intermetallics, and nickel aluminides are of particular interest. Reactants of nickel and aluminum give a mixture with powders of significantly different shock impedances, which should lead to large differential particle velocities at constant pressure. Such localized motion should act to mix the reactants. The mixture also involves a low shock viscosity, deformable material, aluminum, with a harder, high shock viscosity material, nickel, which will not flow as well as the aluminum. 

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