A simple kinetic method for the determination of the reaction model from non-isothermal experiments

In a recent article, we obtained an approximate solution for the evolution of a transformed fraction under isochronal conditions for a large variety of single-step transformations. We verified that this solution is accurate and can, in many instances, be used instead of the exact numerical solutions of the corresponding differential equations. In this article we want to examine the possibilities offered by an analytical solution in the analysis of thermoanalytical curves. We will show that for single-step transformations, our model predicts that under the proper time scaling the thermograms obtained at different heating rates merge into a single curve. This 'universal curve' is exclusively related to the kinetic model. In addition, the universal curve can be obtained from experimental thermograms by means of a simple transformation. In this way, the dependence of the experimental curves on the rate constant and the kinetic model can easily be separated, making it possible to independently determine the kinetic parameters and the kinetic model. In addition, one can easily check the validity of the kinetic analysis as well as calculate a reliable statistical measure of the goodness of the single-step assumption.