Introduction to Thermodynamics

At first, the fundamental concepts and their mathematical formulation are recalled: integral quantities like various forms of thermodynamic potentials, exchanged energy forms, partial molar quantities like chemical potentials, activities etc.. The emphasis will be on multi-component systems of solid, liquid and gaseous phases. The thermodynamic treatment of chemical reactions is presented and applied to oxidation reactions. The basis of Ellingham diagrams and their use is illustrated. The thermodynamic description of multi-component solution phases is presented as well as the construction of phase diagrams. The restricted equilibrium in the case of immobile substitutional elements is discussed (para-equilibrium).