EQUILIBRIUM PHASE TRANSITIONS

This chapter aims to develop the fundamental equations of thermodynamics which govern equilibrium between reacting species or phases. It begins with a review of the basic thermodynamic state variables of a homogeneous phase, followed by a discussion of the basic concepts of phase equilibrium in pure species as well as in multi-component systems. The ideal and non-ideal behaviour of mixtures, which facilitates the development of free energy formalisms associated with the mixture, is discussed in the subsequent sections. An introduction to phase diagram calculation techniques for binary and briefly for multi-component systems is presented. Finally, the concept of metastability and equilibrium suppression is introduced, and the significance and applications of metastable phase diagrams are outlined.