Thermal decomposition
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. |
- For the biological process, see Decomposition. For chemical decomposition in general, see Chemical decomposition.
Thermal decomposition is defined as a chemical reaction whereby a chemical substance breaks up into at least two chemical substances when heated. It is usually an endothermic reaction as heat is required to break chemical bonds in the compound undergoing decomposition. Thermolysis (from thermo- meaning heat and -lysis meaning break down) is a chemical process by which a substance is decomposed into other substances by use of heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance decomposes into smaller substances or into its constituent atoms.
For example, calcium carbonate decomposes into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. Some compounds, on the other hand simply decompose into their constituent elements. Water, when heated to well over 2000 degrees Celsius, breaks up into hydrogen and oxygen.
A common example is the decomposition of copper carbonate into copper oxide and carbon dioxide, seen here:
The copper carbonate turns from a green powder into a black copper oxide, and carbon dioxide is released in a gaseous state.
Decomposition may be aided by the presence of a catalyst. For example, hydrogen peroxide decomposes more quickly with the use of manganese(IV) oxide:
- 2H2O2(aq) → 2H2O(l) + O2(g)
High temperatures can also induce polymerization, which produces larger molecules, possibly also causing thermal decomposition and evaporation of smaller molecules in the process. Such reactions called pyrolysis. This is not only decomposition, although may be inaccurately referred to as such. A common example is coking, formation of an amorphous carbon structure along with the evaporation of hydrogen and other pyrolysis gases.
de:ThermolyseAcknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
