Differential Scanning Calorimetry of the Coalescence Growth of Fine Smoke Particles

Abstract
To determine the mechanism of coalescence of fine particles in smoke produced by gas evaporation, mixture of Ag smoke particles and Cu smoke particles were examined by differential scanning calorimetry. A broad exothermic peak appeared between 10 and 500°C, and a sharp endothermic peak near the eutectic point of the bulk Ag–Cu alloy, The integrated heat of the exothermic peak is ascribed to the reduction of the overall surface energy of the particles by the coalescence. The coalescence of the fine particles is interpreted here using a theory of sintering by atomic diffusion.