Thermodynamic modelling of the Ca–O system including 3rd generation description of CaO and CaO2

Abstract A complete thermodynamic description of the Ca–O system is proposed including 3rd generation modelling of crystalline CaO, liquid and amorphous CaO, and crystalline CaO2. Compared to previous modellings, a more robust description of the thermodynamic properties of the binary phases is achieved using data recently obtained by density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. The heat capacity of crystalline CaO is reassessed, leading to a noticeably higher value below the melting point compared to previous modellings and resulting in a slightly higher standard entropy. It is highlighted that the parameters given in terms of polynomial functions of temperature that were employed so far in 3rd generation models to describe anharmonic contributions in the heat capacity of compounds were not suited to satisfactorily describe the thermodynamic properties of crystalline CaO. It is suggested that this observation can be generalized to most refractory oxides. Alternative terms are proposed in the Gibbs energy function that give more flexibility in fitting the experimental data and lead to more numerically reasonable values for the parameters. The liquid and amorphous CaO phase is described using the two-state model, leading to a significant improvement in the description of its heat capacity. The description of crystalline CaO2 is also improved as only estimates of the thermodynamic properties of the compound were available in previous modellings of the system. Finally, phase equilibria data on the Ca–CaO liquidus is reviewed, and it is highlighted that slight discrepancies in the relatively low temperature measurements can lead to significantly different descriptions of the liquid phase.