ABSTRACT
This chapter examines such properties, first for pure materials, then for two-component materials, and finally for three-component materials. The thermal stability of a material, with respect to phase change and/or chemical change, can be very important in determining uses of a material. The thermodynamic stability of a gas depends on its molar Gibbs energy being less than a condensed phase. When water, acetone, and phenol are mixed at room temperature and pressure, the situation is not quite so simple. Water and acetone are miscible in all proportions, so there are no phase boundaries on the water–acetone axis. Similarly, acetone and phenol are miscible in all proportions, so there are no phase boundaries on the acetone–phenol axis. The discussions of phase stability in this chapter have focused on bulk materials. However, thermal stability can be quite different when the number of atoms becomes small or the system is confined in certain ways.
