Studies in solid-solid reactions: autocatalysis in the reduction of cuprous chloride by silicon

Abstract

Reaction between silicon solid cuprous chloride constitutes a major step in preparing the catalyst for the manufacture of chlorosilanes. Experimental results on this reaction are reported. Data are analyzed based on the observed autocatalytic nature of the reaction. Rate constants activation energies for both the steps-non-catalytic and autocatalytic-are obtained. Finally, the effect of various process parameters on the reaction rate is discussed.