The decomposition of ethanol vapour by infrared radiation from a pulsed HF-laser

The decomposition of ethanol vapour induced by infrared radiation from a pulsed HF-laser has been studied as a function of pressure. At high pressures, above 10 torr, the main primary processes appear to be:C₂H₅OH → H₂ + CH₃CHO,C₂H₅OH → C₂H₄ + H₂O,C₂H₅OH → CH₃ + CH₂OHin a ratio of 3:2:1 which is independent of pressure. At low pressures the process yielding C₂H₄ and H₂O becomes dominant. The results suggest that the high pressure behaviour involves a “thermal” decomposition with collisional processes dominating, whereas at low pressures the decomposition is due to multiple photon absorption which at the lowest pressures approaches a collision-free unimolecular decomposition.     

A Mass-spectrometric study of propionaldehyde oxidation in the negative temperature coefficient region

The oxidation of propionaldehyde has been investigated in a 1-L Pyrex reactor at total pressures of 50–120 torr and temperatures 553–713 K. Detection of reactants and products was principally by molecular beam mass spectrometry, although certain species could only be measured by gas-chromatographic analysis. At 553 K the yield of water was ～83% of the propionaldehyde consumed, leading to the conclusion that OH is the principal chain carrier near the beginning of the negative temperature coefficient region. Many oxygenated organics (CH₂O, CH₃CHO, C₂H₅OH, C₂H₅O₂H, CH₃O₂H) and C₂H₄ are formed during the oxidation process. These oxidation products are consistent with the important role of O₂ addition to C₂H₅ radicals at 553 K followed by subsequent reactions of the C₂H₅O₂ radical. As the temperature is increased, the product concentrations smoothly change to a much simpler distribution in which C₂H₄, H₂O₂, and CO are the dominant products.     

An experimental and modeling study of ethanol oxidation kinetics in an atmospheric pressure flow reactor

Experimental profiles of stable species concentrations and temperature are reported for the flow reactor oxidation of ethanol at atmospheric pressure, initial temperatures near 1100 K and equivalence ratios of 0.61–1.24. Acetaldehyde, ethene, and methane appear in roughly equal concentrations as major intermediate species under these conditions. A detailed chemical mechanism is validated by comparison with the experimental species profiles. The importance of including all three isomeric forms of the C₂H₅O radical in such a mechanism is demonstrated. The primary source of ethene in ethanol oxidation is verified to be the decomposition of the C₂H₄OH radical. The agreement between the model and experiment at 1100 K is optimized when the branching ratio of the reactions of C₂H₅OH with OH and H is defined by (30% C₂H₄OH + 50% CH₃CHOH + 20% CH₃CH₂O) + XH. As in methanol oxidation, HO₂ chemistry is very important, while the H + O₂ chain branching reaction plays only a minor role until late in fuel decay, even at temperatures above 1100 K.     

Probing the pyrolysis of ethyl formate in the dilute gas phase by synchrotron radiation and theory

The thermal decomposition of the atmospheric constituent ethyl formate was studied by coupling flash pyrolysis with imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (iPEPICO) spectroscopy using synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation at the Swiss Light Source (SLS). iPEPICO allows photoion mass-selected threshold photoelectron spectra (ms-TPES) to be obtained for pyrolysis products. By threshold photoionization and ion imaging, parent ions of neutral pyrolysis products and dissociative photoionization products could be distinguished, and multiple spectral carriers could be identified in several ms-TPES. The TPES and mass-selected TPES for ethyl formate are reported for the first time and appear to correspond to ionization of the lowest energy conformer having a cis (eclipsed) configuration of the O = C (H)– O – C (H₂)–CH₃ and trans (staggered) configuration of the O= C (H)– O – C (H₂)– C H₃ dihedral angles. We observed the following ethyl formate pyrolysis products: CH₃CH₂OH, CH₃CHO, C₂H₆, C₂H₄, HC(O)OH, CH₂O, CO₂, and CO, with HC(O)OH and C₂H₄ pyrolyzing further, forming CO + H₂O and C₂H₂ + H₂. The reaction paths and energetics leading to these products, together with the products of two homolytic bond cleavage reactions, CH₃CH₂O + CHO and CH₃CH₂ + HC(O)O, were studied computationally at the M06-2X-GD3/aug-cc-pVTZ and SVECV-f12 levels of theory, complemented by further theoretical methods for comparison. The calculated reaction pathways were used to derive Arrhenius parameters for each reaction. The reaction rate constants and branching ratios are discussed in terms of the residence time and newly suggest carbon monoxide as a competitive primary fragmentation product at high temperatures.     

Study of the ethane oxidation reaction by the kinetic tracer method

The kinetics of ethane oxidation was studied at 320, 340, 353 and 380°C, mixture composition 2 C₂H₆ + 1 O₂, and total pressure 609 torr. It was found that at 320°C CH₂O and CH₃CHO were branching agents. A series of experiments was conducted on 2C₂H₆ + O₂ oxidation in the presence of 0.7% ¹⁴C-labeled ethylene. The ethylene oxide was found to form only from C₂H₄, formaldehyde formed from C₂H₄ and C₂H₆; and CH₃CHO, C₂H₅OH, and CH₃OH formed only from ethane. The formation rates of C₂H₄, C₂H₄O, and CH₂O were calculated by the kinetic tracer method. At 320°C the fraction of oxygen-containing products formed from C₂H₄ was 16–18%, and at 353 and 380°C it was 30–40%.     

A Theoretical Investigation of the Decomposition Reactions of Ethyl Formate in the S0 State

This study revisits the stability of the possible conformations and the decomposition reactions of ethyl formate in the S₀ state using the (U)MP2, MP4SDTQ, CCSD(T), and (U)B3LYP methods with various basis sets. The transition states of the decomposition channels to HCOOH + C₂H₄, CO + CH₃CH₂OH, CH₂O + CH₃CHO, HCOH + CH₃CHO, C₂H₆ + CO₂, and H₂ + CH₂CHOCHO are determined. The microcanonical rate constants derived from the RRKM theory are calculated for each of the decomposition reactions. The high‐pressure limit rate constants are calculated for the decomposition channels to HCOOH + C₂H₄, CO + CH₃CH₂OH, and CH₂O + CH₃CHO.     

Master Equation Modeling of the Unimolecular Decompositions of α‐Hydroxyethyl (CH3CHOH) and Ethoxy (CH3CH2O) Radicals

The unimolecular decomposition of two radical isomers of C₂H₅O (CH₃CH₂O/ethoxy, CH₃CHOH/α‐hydroxyethyl) are investigated by means of Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus/master equation simulations in helium and nitrogen bath gases on an accurate one‐dimensional potential energy surface. For ethoxy, simulations are carried out between temperatures of 406 and 1200 K and pressures of 0.001 and 100 atm. For CH₃CHOH, simulations are carried out between temperatures of 800 and 1500 K and pressures of 0.001 and 100 atm. Results are compared with available experimental data, with good agreement. The dominant product of α‐hydroxyethyl decomposition is CH₃CHO + H, with C₂H₃OH + H and CH₃ + CH₂O, being minor channels. Rate coefficients are strongly dependent on temperature and pressure and are recommended with attendant uncertainty factor estimates. The relative roles of vinyl alcohol and acetaldehyde in the context of combustion chemistry are also discussed.     

Determination of the rates of formation of gaseous products from the pyrolysis of octahydro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetranitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocine (hmx) by simultaneous thermogravimetric modulated beam mass spectrometry

The method for determining the rates of formation of gaseous pyrolysis products during thermal decompositions by simultaneous thermogravimetric modulated beam mass spectrometry is presented. The analysis procedure that handles both molecular and continuum flow from the reaction cell is described. The technique is illustrated with the isothermal decomposition of HMX. The temporal behaviors of the rates of formation of the pyrolysis products, H₂O, HCN, CO, CH₂O, NO, N₂O, methylformamide, C₂H₆N₂O, and octahydro-1-nitroso-3, 5, 7-trinitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocene, formed during the isothermal decomposition of HMX at 211°C, are presented. The results show that a complex condensed-phase reaction mechanism controls the decomposition.     

A computational study of the radical–radical reaction of O(<Superscript>3</Superscript>P) + C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>5</Subscript> with comparisons to gas-phase kinetics and crossed-beam experiments

We present density functional theory (DFT) and complete basis set (CBS) calculations of the prototypical radical–radical reaction of ground–state atomic oxygen [O(³P)] with ethyl (C₂H₅) radicals. The respective reaction mechanisms and dynamics were investigated on the doublet potential energy surfaces using the DFT method and CBS model. In the title reaction, the barrierless addition of O(³P) to C₂H₅ led to the formation of energy-rich intermediates that underwent subsequent isomerization and decomposition to yield various products. The products predicted to be found were: H₂CO + CH₃, CH₃CHO + H, c–CH₂OCH₂ + H, ^1,3CH₃COH + H, ^1,3HCOH + CH₃, CH₂CHOH + H, C₂H₃ + H₂O, and CH₂CH₂ + OH. In particular, unlike previous kinetic results, proposed to proceed only through the direct H-atom abstraction process, two distinctive pathways to the formation of CH₂CH₂ + OH were predicted to be in competition: direct, barrierless H-atom abstraction mechanism versus addition process. The competition was consistent with the recent crossed-beam investigations, and their microscopic dynamic characteristics are discussed at the molecular level.     

The reaction of the hydroxyl radical with acetylene

The reaction of OH with acetylene was studied in a discharge flow system at room temperature. OH was generated by the reaction of atomic hydrogen with NO₂ and was monitored throughout the reaction using ESR spectroscopy. Mass-spectrometric analysis of the reaction products yielded the following results: (1) less than 3 molecules of OH were consumed, and less than 2 molecules of H₂O were formed for every molecule of acetylene that reacted; (2) CO was identified as the major carbon-containing product; (3) NO, formed in the generation of OH, reacted with a reaction intermediate to give among other products N₂O. These observations placed severe limitations on the choice of a reaction mechanism. A mechanism containing the reaction OH + C₂H₂ → HC₂O + H₂ better accounted for the experimental results than one involving the abstraction reaction OH + C₂H₂ → C₂H + H₂O. The rate constant for the initial reaction was measured as 1.9 ± 0.6 × 10^?13 cm³ molecule^?1 sec^?1.     

Homolytic decomposition of hydrotrioxides

The rate constants and fraction of radical decomposition of the hydrotrioxides (CH₃)₂C(OH)OOOH, (CH₃)₂CHOC(CH₃)₂OOOH, and C₆H₅C(O)OOOH were determined by the free radical acceptor method. It was found that the dependence of the rate constant of radical decomposition on the nature of the solvent obeys the Koppel-Palm equation. The fraction of radical decomposition is a function of the structure of the hydrotrioxide and the temperature.Translated from Ivzestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2208–2211, October, 1989.We would like to thank N. M. Korotaev for his assistance in conducting the experiments.     

Photoinduced methanol formation from methane and no at 275 k on highly dispersed vanadium oxide supported on vycor glass and its reaction intermediate species

UV irradiation at 275 K of the highly dispersed V/Vycor oxide catalyst in the presence of NO leads to the formation of N₂ and O₂. The decomposition reaction of NO proceeds photocatafytically. In the presence of CH₄, UV-irradiation of the catalyst at 275 K leads to the formation of C₂H₆ and C₂H₄, but this reaction is found to accompany the reduction of the catalyst as well as the formation of CH₃ radicals. A dynamic photoluminescence study of the catalyst in the absence and presence of the reactants indicates that the charge transfer excited triplet state of the surface vanadyl-species (V=O) plays a significant role in these photoinduced reactions of NO and CH₄. On the other hand, UV-irradiation of the catalyst at 275 K in the presence of a mixture of NO and CH₄ leads to the formation of CH₃OH in addition to the above products. The higher the ratio of NO/CH₄ in the mixture is, the larger the yield of CH₃OH becomes and the smaller the yields of C₂H₆ and C₂H₄ become, the reaction proceeding catalytically. Thus, the present results not only imply that the highly dispersed supported vanadium oxide catalysts can be utilized as a potential photocatalyst for de-NOx-ing and/or methane activation at normal temperature but also suggest that the photo-formed oxygen species from NO molecules plays a significant role in the photoinduced CH₃OH formation from CH₄ and NO on V/Vycor oxide catalysts at 275 K.     

Kinetics and mechanism associated with the reactions of hydroxyl radicals and of chlorine atoms with 1‐propanol under near‐tropospheric conditions between 273 and 343 K

Rate constants for the reactions of OH radicals and Cl atoms with 1‐propanol (1‐C₃H₇OH) have been determined over the temperature range 273–343 K by the use of a relative rate technique. The value of k(Cl + 1‐C₃H₇OH) = (1.69 ± 0.19) × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at 298 K and shows a small increase of 10% between 273 and 342 K. The value of k(OH + 1‐C₃H₇OH) increases by 14% between 273 and 343 K with a value of (5.50 ± 0.55) × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 at 298 K, and further when combined with a single independent experimentally determined value at 753 K gives k(OH + 1‐C₃H₇OH) = 4.69 × 10^?17T^1.8 exp(422/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1, which fits each data point to better than 2%. Two well‐established structure–activity relationships for H abstraction by OH radicals give accurate predictions of the rate constant for OH + 1‐C₃H₇OH, provided the β‐CH₂ group is given an increased reactivity of a factor of about 2 over that for the structurally equivalent CH₂ group in alkanes at 298 K. A quantitative product analysis was carried out at 298 K for the Cl‐initiated photooxidation of 1‐C₃H₇OH, using both FTIR and gas chromatography. HCHO, CH₃CHO, and C₂H₅CHO were the only major organic primary products observed, although HCOOH was found in much smaller amounts as a secondary product. A key characteristic of the analysis was that the initial values of the product ratio [CH₃CHO]/[C₂H₅CHO] were effectively constant for NO pressures between 0.15 and 0.3 Torr, but fell by about 35% as the pressure fell to 0.0375 Torr. From a detailed consideration of the mechanism for the oxidation, it is suggested that C₂H₅CHO, CH₃CHO (+HCHO), and 3 molecules of HCHO are formed uniquely from CH₃CH₂CHOH, CH₃CHCH₂OH, and CH₂CH₂CH₂OH radicals, respectively. On this basis, use of the product yields gives the branching ratios of 56, 30, and 14% for Cl atom reaction at the α‐, β‐, and γ‐C? H positions in 1‐C₃H₇OH at 298 K. Given the very low temperature coefficients involved, little change will occur over tropospheric temperature ranges. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 34: 110–121, 2002     

Solvohyperiodination. A comparison with solvothallation

C₆H₅IO/CH₃OH and a catalyst such as FSO₃H , CF₃SO₃H or BF₃-Et₂O as well as C₆H₅(OH)OTs-CH₃OH,react with chalcones, acetophenones and styrenes to yield rearranged products. The overall course of these reactions is analogous to that of Tl(NO₃)₃-CH₃OH in reaction with the same compounds.     

Methyl group replacement on pentamethylantimony with organophosphorus substituents

Phosphinic and phosphonic acids were treated with pentamethylantimony to replace one of its methyl groups (with formation of methane) to give the following new compounds: (CH₃SbOP(O)(C₆H₅)₂, (CH₃)₄SbOP(O)(OH)CH₃, and (CH₃)₄SbOP(O)(OH)C₆H₅). The latter two compounds are associated, presumably through hydrogen bonding.     

A comprehensive mechanism for methanol oxidation

A comprehensive detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for methanol oxidation has been developed and validated against multiple experimental data sets. The data are from static-reactor, flow-reactor, shock-tube, and laminar-flame experiments, and cover conditions of temperature from 633–2050 K, pressure from 0.26–20 atm, and equivalence ratio from 0.05–2.6. Methanol oxidation is found to be highly sensitive to the kinetics of the hydroperoxyl radical through a chain-branching reaction sequence involving hydrogen peroxide at low temperatures, and a chain-terminating path at high temperatures. The sensitivity persists at unusually high temperatures due to the fast reaction of CH₂OH+O₂=CH₂O+HO₂ compared to CH₂OH+M=CH₂O+H+M. The branching ratio of CH₃OH+OH=CH₂OH/CH₃O+H₂O was found to be a more important parameter under the higher temperature conditions, due to the rate-controlling nature of the branching reaction of the H-atom formed through CH₃O thermal decomposition. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 30: 805–830, 1998     

Bildung und Charakterisierung von Oberflächenverbindungen in den Systemen (C6H5CH2)4M/γ-Al2O3 (M = Ti,Zr)

Formation and Characterization of Surface Compounds in the Systems (C₆H₅CH₂)₄M/γ-Al₂O₅ (M = Ti, Zr) By O-bridges anchored surface-compounds are formed by protolytic splitting off of benzyl groups if tetrabenzyltitanium and -zirconium are added to γ-alumina. These compounds contain the metal in different oxidation states in dependence on the carrier/substrate ratio and the density of OH groups on the alumina surface. The different kinds of surface compounds are discussed. Furthermore, the products formed by thermal decomposition and hydrogenolysis of the surface compounds were analysed. With regard to catalytic conversion reactions of hydrocarbons systems of the type (C₆H₅CH₂)₄M/Pt/γ-Al₂O₃were involved in the investigations.     

The thermal decomposition of azomethane. III. Kinetics of the noninhibited reaction

The thermal decomposition of azomethane (A) has been studied in a static system at temperatures between 250° and 320°C and at pressures between 5 and 402 torr, with particular attention to identification of products. Major products, in decreasing order of importance, were nitrogen, methane, ethane, methylethyldiimide, dimethylhydrazone, propane, tetramethylhydrazine, ethylene, methylpropyldiimide, and methylethylhydrazone. Carbon balance at the lowest pressure and highest temperature was 92%, but decreased with increasing pressure and decreasing temperature owing to the formation of a polymer. A fairly simple mechanism accounts reasonably well for a short chain in the decomposition, propagated by the radical CH₃N₂CH₂ (B), and for the five most abundant products, except ethane. It turns out that there is a second source of ethane, arising by C₂H₅ + A → C₂H₆ + B; this explains an anomalously high apparent activation energy for the reaction CH₃ + A → CH₄ + B. Ethyl radicals are also shown to be responsible for the formation of propane, ethylene, methylethylhydrazone, and methylpropyldiimide. The radical B decomposes to CH₃ + CH₂ + N₂, and the methylene radical (probably both singlet and triplet) is shown to yield C₂H₅ at low pressure and high temperature, and mostly polymer at high pressure and low temperature.     

A Computational Study of the Kinetics and Mechanism for the C2H3 + CH3OH Reaction

The mechanism for the C₂H₃ + CH₃OH reaction has been investigated by the Gaussian‐4 (G4) method based on the geometric parameters of the stationary points optimized at the B3LYP/6–31G(2df, p) level of theory. Four transition states have been identified for the production of C₂H₄ + CH₃O (TSR/P1), C₂H₄ + CH₂OH (TSR/P2), C₂H₃OH + CH₃ (TSR/P3), and C₂H₃OCH₃ + H (TSR/P4) with the corresponding barriers 8.48, 9.25, 37.62, and 34.95 kcal/mol at the G4 level of theory, respectively. The rate constants and branching ratios for the two lower energy H‐abstraction reactions were calculated using canonical variational transition state theory with the Eckart tunneling correction at the temperature range 300–2500 K. The predicted rate constants have been compared with existing literature data, and the uncertainty has been discussed. The branching ratio calculation suggests that the channel producing CH₃O is dominant up to about 1070 K, above which the channel producing CH₂OH becomes very competitive.     

Isomorphous rare‐earth tris[bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl) phosphate] complexes and their catalytic properties in 1,3‐diene polymerization and in the inhibited oxidation of polydimethylsiloxane

Crystals of mononuclear tris[bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl) phosphato‐κO]pentakis(methanol‐κO)lanthanide methanol monosolvates of lanthanum, [La(C₂₄H₃₄O₄P)₃(CH₃OH)₅]·CH₃OH, ( 1 ), cerium, [Ce(C₂₄H₃₄O₄P)₃(CH₃OH)₅]·CH₃OH, ( 2 ), and neodymium, [Nd(C₂₄H₃₄O₄P)₃(CH₃OH)₅]·CH₃OH, ( 3 ), have been obtained by reactions between LnCl₃(H₂O)_n (n = 6 or 7) and lithium bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl) phosphate in a 1:3 molar ratio in methanol media. Compounds ( 1 )–( 3 ) crystallize in the monoclinic P2₁/c space group and have isomorphous crystal structures. All three bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl) phosphate ligands display a κO‐monodentate coordination mode. The coordination number of the metal atom is 8. Each [Ln{O₂P(O‐2,6‐ⁱPr₂C₆H₃)₂}₃(CH₃OH)₅] molecular unit exhibits four intramolecular O—H…O hydrogen bonds, forming six‐membered rings. The unit forms two intermolecular O—H…O hydrogen bonds with one noncoordinating methanol molecule. All six hydroxy H atoms are involved in hydrogen bonding within the [Ln{O₂P(O‐2,6‐ⁱPr₂C₆H₃)₂}₃(CH₃OH)₅]·CH₃OH unit. This, along with the high steric hindrance induced by the three bulky diaryl phosphate ligands, prevents the formation of a hydrogen‐bond network. Complexes ( 1 )–( 3 ) exhibit disorder of two of the isopropyl groups of the phosphate ligands. The cerium compound ( 2 ) demonstrates an essential catalytic inhibition in the thermal decomposition of polydimethylsiloxane in air at 573 K. Catalytic systems based on the neodymium complex tris[bis(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl) phosphato‐κO]neodymium, ( 3′ ), which was obtained as a dry powder of ( 3 ) upon removal of methanol, display a high catalytic activity in isoprene and butadiene polymerization.