As increase in surface area enhances the reaction rate, fine grained materials should be used if possible.
Sufficient amount of some volatile organic liquid – preferably acetone or alcohol – is added to the mixture to aid homogenization.
During the process of grinding and mixing, the organic liquid gradually volatilizes and has usually evaporated completely after 10 to 15 minutes.
For quantities much larger than ~20g, mechanical mixing is usually adopted using a ball mill and the pro For the subsequent reaction at high temperatures, it is necessary to choose a suitable container material which is chemically inert to the reactants under the heating conditions used.
Pelleting of samples is preferred prior to heating, since it increases the area of contact between the grains.