Isothermal decomposition of gamma-irradiated thallous acetate

Isothermal decomposition of non-irradiated and post-gamma-irradiated thallo us acetate has been investigated at different temperatures between 553 and 583 K. Irradiation was observed to enhance the rare of decomposition withou t modifying the mechanism of thermal decomposition. Thermal decomposition o f thallous acetate has been shown to proceed by nucleation and growth mecha nism (Avrami and Erofe'ev equation) both for non-irradiated and post-gamma- irradiated samples. The enhancement of the decomposition was found to incre ase with an increase in the gamma-ray dose applied to the sample and may be attributed to an increase in point defects and formation of additional nuc leation centers generated in the host lattice. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved.