Kinetic studies of metal hydroxide intercalation into tantaium disulfide

The rate of intercalation of KOH and NaOH into 2s TaS2 in aqueous solution has been studied as a function of hydroxide concentration (y mol per mol of TaS2) and in the temperature range 2-100° in a constant volume of solution. For y≤ 0.5, the rate follows first order until all the hydroxide is consumed but the intercalated product is a mixture of stages; for y > 0.5, the-end product is of stage I intercalation but the first-order rate law is obeyed only up to t′ of the total time (t′ < t) of reaction and thereafter exhibits a complex behavior with a decreased rate. The data are discussed in terms of the theory of heterogeneous reactions in solution and plausible mechanisms are proposed for the observed falling off of first-order rate and for the process of intercalation.