Method to characterize phase transformation kinetics at high temperature

A new method is described to characterize the transformation kinetics of reconstructive systems at high temperatures using synchrotron X-ray radiation, a quadrupole lamp furnace, and a detector capable of collecting a diffraction pattern of sufficient range in a minimal amount of time. Using this method, the activation energy for a reconstructive phase transformation in Dy2TiO5 was determined to be 149 kJ/mol. This value is more reasonable when compared with the uncertain values determined using conventional methods such as differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, the new method also provides higher quality data with improved time resolution, leading to better determination of fitted kinetic parameters.