A compilation and critical evaluation of the literature data on thermal dehydration of hydrated salts

Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (Formerly R.R.L.), Bhubaneswar-751 013, Orissa, India

E-mail : sbk_your@yahoo.co.in

Manuscript received 7 January 2008, revised 16 March 2009, accepted 17 March 2009

The article provides a detailed compilation of literature data on the thermal dehydration of simple (formed from single cation and anion) hydrated salts consisting of a wide variety of cations and anions or ligands. An attempt has been made to correlate the temperature and apparent activation energy of dehydration with either charge density (z/r) of cation or stability constant (log K) of metal-ligand complex. It is observed that the correlations are complex as they are dependent on the nature of both cation and anion. It is suggested that precise and well-documented data of the dehydration of crystalline hydrated salts are necessary to arrive at meaningful correlation with adequate theoretical basis.