The Knudsen effusion mass spectrometric method has been
used to measure the equilibrium partial pressures
of SiC2, Si2C, Si2C2,
and Si3C above the SiC−graphite system at temperatures
between 1750 and 2000 K.
New thermal functions have been calculated for these molecules
from recent literature experimental and
theoretical molecular parameters and combined with the measured partial
pressures to obtain the atomization
enthalpies, ΔH
a,0, in kJ
mol-1: 1247 ± 8 (SiC2), 1052
± 10 (Si2C), 1652 ± 14 (Si2C2),
and 1437 ± 14
(Si3C). The derived enthalpies of formation,
ΔH
f,298, in kJ
mol-1, are 633 ± 9 (SiC2), 566
± 11 (Si2C), 678
± 15 (Si2C2), and 632 ± 15
(Si3C).