THERMOANALYTICAL STUDY OF MECHANICALLY ACTIVATED CINNABAR

The investigation of the properties of mechanically activated cinnabar has shown that the surface area of this mineral and the amorphization of its structure increase. In the course of activation the mechanochemical transformation alpha --> beta-sets in while the metastable beta-phase containing accumulated excess energy can re-transform into the more stable and less-strained alpha-phase during DSC experiments. The process is overlapped by dissociative sublimation of the mineral. A linear relationship has been found between the maximum temperatures of DSC effects and the empirical coefficient of disorder of mechanically activated samples.