The thermal behavior, mechanism and kinetic parameters of the exothermic first-stage decomposition reaction of the title compound in a temperature-programmed mode have been investigated by means of DSC, TG-DTG and IR. The reaction mechanism was proposed. The kinetic model function in differential form, apparent activation energy (E-a) and pre-exponential factor (A) of this reaction are (1 - alpha)(2), 178.41 kJ mol(-1) and 10(17.06) s(-1), respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion of the compound is 184.99degreesC. The values of DeltaS(not equal), DeltaH(not equal) and DeltaG(not equal) of this reaction are 91.54 J mol(-1) K-1, 176.86 kJ mol(-1) and 135.83 kJ mol(-1), respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.