thermite reaction using other metal oxides

[hermanntrude]

Has anyone here ever demonstrated the thermite reaction using any other metal besides iron oxide? I'd like to try this reaction using at least three oxides. wikipedia states that it is possible with Cr2O3 and CuO...

[DrP]

I don't know if this is any help or not: http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=10249&page=1

 

There is a massive thread there about various thermite variations.

[Gilded]

I don't know if this is any help or not: http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=10249&page=1

 

There is a massive thread there about various thermite variations.

 

There has been some discussion about the more exotic thermite reactions on SFN as well, can't remember who has actually done them though. I've only done Al+Fe2O3.

 

But yeah, the stuff in that thread sounds about right. Essentially it's doable with dozens of different metal oxides.

[YT2095]

be extremely careful especially with the heavier metal oxides, some will practically Detonate and with little to no provocation!

milligram amounts can quite cheerfully remove a finger and as such should not be made at all.

[Gilded]

be extremely careful especially with the heavier metal oxides, some will practically Detonate and with little to no provocation!

milligram amounts can quite cheerfully remove a finger and as such should not be made at all.

 

Heh, I was just thinking how awesome it would be to make a gold or uranium thermite.

[jdurg]

Uranium Thermite would be impossible since Uranium bonds so readily with oxygen that the heat created when it was formed would cause it to bind with atmospheric oxygen immediately. Plus, I'm not sure it would be thermondynamically favorable.

[frosch45]

heres a great video for this

 

it shows like 10 different oxides used

[hermanntrude]

be extremely careful especially with the heavier metal oxides, some will practically Detonate and with little to no provocation!

milligram amounts can quite cheerfully remove a finger and as such should not be made at all.

 

thanks for the warning

[Gilded]

Uranium Thermite would be impossible since Uranium bonds so readily with oxygen that the heat created when it was formed would cause it to bind with atmospheric oxygen immediately. Plus, I'm not sure it would be thermondynamically favorable.

 

Bleh, I suppose I'm not extracting metallic uranium from pitchblende anytime soon then.

 

The gold thermite still intrigues me though. Molten hot "golden shower" anyone?

(Interesting fact: Gold has a melting point of approximately 1337 K. r0flm40 r0x0rb0x0rz and so forth.)

Edited September 12, 2008 by Gilded

[hermanntrude]

Heh, I was just thinking how awesome it would be to make a gold <snip> thermite.

 

i'd like to see you get hold of gold oxide

 

I take it back... I just researched my own post and to my surprise:

 

gold (III) oxide

[Gilded]

http://www.sciencelab.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PVAR&Product_Code=SLG1306

Cheap as hell!

 

Somehow I'm guessing that's reagent grade, so if someone wants to just sell their car rather than their house they might want to get a price quote from American Elements on the 99% powder.

http://www.americanelements.com/auox.html

 

And you can always collect the metallic gold and sell it. That would get some money back, but looking at those prices it seems like the oxide is at least four times as expensive as metallic gold.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Gilded

[big314mp]

If you felt like living dangerously, you could always give cinnabar a go

[Gilded]

If you felt like living dangerously, you could always give cinnabar a go

 

That was discussed in the Sciencemadness thread but it sounds rather boring though considering the mercury will just vaporize right away. :| Gaseous mercury while dangerous is rather boring, I'd presume.

 

I'm wondering about tungsten though.

[big314mp]

I'm wondering about tungsten though.

 

Tungsten trioxide is supposedly used as a ceramic coloring agent, so it may be readily available.

[John Cuthber]

Uranium Thermite would be impossible since Uranium bonds so readily with oxygen that the heat created when it was formed would cause it to bind with atmospheric oxygen immediately. Plus, I'm not sure it would be thermondynamically favorable.

 

What's the difference between very hot iron reacting with oxygen and very hot uranium reacting with oxygen? Since one works the other might.

Also nobody said which uranium oxide to use I think this might work, though perhaps not to the metal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranyl_peroxide

Of course there's the problem with spreading a nasty poison about the place too so I doubt anyone will do this.

[YT2095]

IIRC, I think Uranium forms a complex with Al anyway, rendering the entire excersize moot.

[big314mp]

It complexes with the aluminum ions, or the aluminum metal? Surely there must be a relatively straightforward way to separate it, as a good portion of the earth's crust is composed of aluminum, which would have to be removed from any ores before they can be used as fuel.

[jdurg]

What's the difference between very hot iron reacting with oxygen and very hot uranium reacting with oxygen? Since one works the other might.

Also nobody said which uranium oxide to use I think this might work, though perhaps not to the metal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranyl_peroxide

Of course there's the problem with spreading a nasty poison about the place too so I doubt anyone will do this.

 

Uranium metal itself is FAR more reactive to oxygen in air than iron is. If you take some pure uranium metal and scratch it, the heat genrated from a match will quite quickly oxidize it. With iron, you can heat it up pretty strongly in air without actually seeing the oxidation. Not the case with uranium.

 

Also, the heat of formation of Uranium Oxide is MUCH greater than the heat of formation of Aluminum Oxide. Therefore, the overall reaction is quite endothermic. That means the thermite will NOT work.

[verode]

you may try with Zn power and Ag2O wov

 

try with Mg and NaOH you may get sodium

 

try Cro3 with Al

you may start with KMnO4 + glycerin

 

Boron makes more energy for gram than Al does

So B with KNO3+ sodium azides are used in airbags

becasuse the Atomic weight of boron is very low

 

did you ever try S + Zn (power) very nice too

[Flashman]

Interesting stuff. I had a bee in my butt a while back about trying to use a thermite for making a ceramic, I can't recall exactly where I was going, hope I scribbled it on an envelope somewhere.

[verode]

you want to make a lot of energy

try with ClF3+ HN3

but it is very darenerous

[YT2095]

Verode, Don`t make me give you a Hazmat warning!

and Do try to stay on-Topic as well.

[hermanntrude]

and what the hell is HN3?

 

hydrogen azide?

[YT2095]

yup, and apart from the more than obvious explosive danger it smells horrid!