THE KINETICS OF THE THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF DISULPHUR DECAFLUORIDE

The thermal decomposition of the gas disulphur decafluoride has been studied in a metal reactor. Analytical evidence showed that the reaction proceeds according to the equation S 2 F 10 = SF 6 + SF 4 .The reaction was found to be largely homogeneous, as the heterogeneous reaction accounted for less than 5% of the total process. The homogeneous reaction was shown to be first order, and in the temperature range investigated the rate is given by ln k = 47.09 − 49,200/RT. A chain reaction is postulated to explain the observed rate of the reaction. The effect of nitric oxide and acetylene dichloride on the rate and products of the reaction was investigated.