The influence of various factors in the reduction of cuprous chloride by titanium: a kinetics study

The reaction between titanium and cuprous chloride powders was studied under vacuum in the range 230–300°C by means of thermogravimetry from mass loss and chemical titrating of the gaseous product of the reaction. The reactivity of the Ti/CuCl system is affected significantly by the mixing operation, the thickness of the TiO 2 film on the Ti particles and the proportion of Ti and CuCl in the mixture. It is established that the kinetics is governed by a nucleation-growth mechanism with an apparent activation energy of about 160 kJ mol −1. The morphological observations and X-ray diffraction data where Cu was identified as main reaction product suggest an autocatalytic process. Finally, a comparison between the two kinetics analysis methods is discussed.