Abstract:
An account of non-isothermal kinetics, with respect to origin, usefulness, limitations, successes and failures compared with isothermal kinetics as applied to solid state heterogeneous reactions, is presented and discussed. The so-called non-relevance of non-isothermal kinetics to such reactions is traced to the over-simplication of mathematical expressions and experimental factors rather than to the non-applicability of the Arrhenius equation itself to non-isothermal heterogeneous kinetics. The usefulness of the variation in A with variation in E as a function of experimental factors, as manifested in the kinetic compensation effect, is indicated to predict the effect of experimental parameters on kinetics.