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Chemistry LibreTexts

Thermite

  • Page ID
    3128
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    Too bad, most Universities will not allow this demonstration for safety reasons. After all, it is only rust and aluminum. What's the harm?

    Introduction

     

    Reaction

    You can used either Fe3O4 (magnetite) or Fe2O3 (hematite) in this reaction. The opitmal ratio changes though to ensure that there is no limiting reagent.

    Fe2O3 + 2Al → 2Fe + Al2O3 + heat

    Safety

    Be very careful if you try this.


    Thermite is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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