The Chemistry Behind it
A thermite reaction happens when an Aluminum and Iron Oxide mixture is heated at over 650 degrees Celsius. It is an exothermic reaction and results in its reactants, Aluminum Oxide and Iron, and heat of over 3000 degrees Celsius. The Iron that is produced by the reaction is melted because of the intense heat the thermite reaction produces. It is a double displacement reaction. The word equation for this reaction is: Iron Oxide(s)+Aluminum(s)+Heat→Iron(l)+Aluminum Oxide(s)+Heat. The skeleton equation is: Fe2O3(s) + Al(s) + Heat → Fe(l) + Al2O3(s) + Heat. The balanced equation is: Fe2O3 + 2 Al → 2 Fe + Al2O3.
What is an exothermic reaction?
An Exothermic reaction is a reaction that lets out more energy than that which was absorbed. The word equation is: reactants→products+energy.
Other chemical Alternatives
Aluminum with Iron(III)Oxide isn't the only combination that can trigger a thermite reaction. The only things needed for a thermite reaction are a metal, a metal oxide, and enough heat. Though aluminum is the perfect metal for this type of reaction, other viable metals are magnesium, titanium, zinc, silicon, and boron. Metal oxide alternatives are boron (III) oxide, silicon (IV) oxide, chromium (III) oxide, manganese (IV) oxide, iron (II) oxide, copper (II) oxide, and lead (II,IV) oxide. These metals and metal oxides are a few out of many alternatives.
Magnesium |
Titanium |
Zinc |
Silicon |
Boron |
Boron Oxide |
Silicon Oxide |
Chromium Oxide |
Manganese Oxide |
Iron(II)Oxide |
Copper Oxide |
Lead(II)Oxide |
Lead(IV)Oxide |