Specific heat of liquid In-Te alloys

Abstract

The temperature and composition dependence of the specific heat in liquid In-Te alloys, measured with adiabatic calorimeter, are reported. The specific heat isotherms around the composition of In₂Te₃ are anomalously large above the liquidus temperature and they tend to be small at very high temperatures. The large specific heats and their temperature dependences are satisfactorily explained in terms of the partial dissociation of compound formation with increasing temperature. The required molar energy for the dissociation from semiconducting to metallic states in liquid Te is about 3.31 kcal mol^-1 and that in liquid In₂Te₃ is 4.21 kcal mol^-1.