The present work is focused on a new approach to describe, quantify, and compare the reactivity of various transition metal silicide phases toward hydrogen chloride. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters are obtained from isothermal calorimetric studies of these reactions. The reactivity of the silicide phases is discussed in terms of reaction start temperatures, rate constants, and apparent activation energies. Negative apparent activation energies are observed at low temperatures and are attributed to an initial stage of reaction where chlorine is chemisorbed and then incorporated into the silicide lattice near the surface. At a later time, a chlorine-containing reaction layer is formed having a composition and reactivity remarkably different from that of the bulk phase. On the basis of solid-state investigations, a diffusion model of the microscopic structure of these layers is presented, where a displacement of nickel atoms occurs followed by the occupation of nickel sites by chlorine. A model is suggested in which the electron level of the reaction layer is adjusted by the chlorine content of this layer, resulting in a electronic stabilization of silylenoide species at the surface. The model is applied to explain product distribution in the induction period during the direct reaction of silicon and methyl chloride.