Hydrogen migrations in alkylcycloalkyl radicals: implications for chain-branching reactions in fuels

A thorough understanding of the oxidation chemistry of cycloalkanes is integral to the development of alternative fuels and improving current fuel performance. An important class of reactions essential to this chemistry is the hydrogen migration; however, they have largely been omitted from the literature for cycloalkanes. The present work investigates all of the hydrogen migration reactions available to methylcyclopentane, ethylcyclopentane, methylcyclohexane, and ethylcyclohexane. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters have been studied by a combination of computational methods and compared to their corresponding n-alkyl and methylalkyl counterparts to determine the effect that the cycloalkane ring has on these reactions. In particular, although the alkylcycloalkyl activation energies for the dominant 1,4, 1,5, and 1,6?H-migration are higher than in n-alkyl and methylalkyl radicals, because several of the rotors needed to form the transition state are locked into place as part of the cycloalkane ring, the A-factors are higher for the alkylcycloalkyl reactions, making the rates closer to the noncyclic systems, at higher temperatures. The results presented here suggest that the relative importance of each H-migration pathway differs from the trends predicted by either the n-alkyl or methylalkyl radical systems. Of particular interest is the observation that since the barrier height of the 1,4?H-migration is only 3-5?kcal?mol(-1) higher than the 1,5?H-migration in the methyl and ethylcycloalkyl radicals, compared to a difference of roughly 7?kcal?mol(-1) in similar reactions for both the n-alkyl and methylalkyl radicals, the 1,4 H-migrations in alkylcycloalkyl radicals will be more important in the overall mechanism than would be predicted based on the n-alkyl and methylalkyl radicals. These results have important combustion model implications, particularly for fuels with high cycloalkane content.     

Ab-initio study of initial atmospheric oxidation reactions of C3 and C4 alkanes

Second-order, Møller–Plesset (MP2)-unrestricted Hartree–Fock calculations with full geometry optimization in the 6-31G(d, p) basis set were carried out to study the initial atmospheric oxidation reactions of alkanes. All structures in the initial hydrogen abstraction reaction by an OH radical and the subsequent addition of molecular oxygen to the alkyl radical were characterized for alkanes with three and four carbon atoms. The reaction paths for the formation of the peroxyl radicals were obtained and discussed in the light of similarities along series involving primary, secondary, and tertiary hydrogens. A 0.999 correlation was found between the height of our barriers for the OH abstraction of a primary hydrogen atom from alkanes containing one to four carbon atoms and the optimally estimated activation energies for this reaction recently presented. From the slope and the intersection at zero activation energy an equation was obtained that yields scaled values of the activation energies to account for the tunnel effect and for the error due to the basis set and the method employed. We present new results for the abstraction of the less favored primary hydrogens in propane, butane, and isobutane, which should be important at high temperatures. Negative net activation energies were obtained for the addition of molecular oxygen to all the alkyl radicals formed in the first reaction. The structure of the peroxyl radicals is discussed; and very good correlations are observed for similar compounds, regardless of the length of the carbon chain. A revision of some experimental values is suggested. Single point density functional calculations at the MP2 geometries were also performed with the B3LYP functional for comparison. The observed trends are exactly the same for the two methods. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 20: 845–856, 1999     

烷烃与羟基自由基反应速率常数的估算

Activation energy of hydroxyl radical OH reacting with alkanes was estimated from the quantitative relation between the bond dissociation energy (BDE) of Ri-H and the polarizability effect index (PEI) of alkyl radical Ri. Preexponential factor A in Arrhenius expression quantitatively was related to the topological steric effect index (TSEI) of alkyl radical Ri. The research results show that three parameters, PEI, TSEI and temperature T, can be used to quantify the activity of hydroxyl radical reacting with primary, secondary and tertiary carbon hydrogen bonds in alkane. The expression can accuratly evaluate the activity of C-H bonds. Moreover, the PEI and TSEI of alkyl radical Ri can be correlated quantitatively with the reaction absolute and relative rates of alkanes and cyclanes with hydroxyl radicals at various temperatures. The predicted rate constants are in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

Mechanism and rate constants for the decomposition of 1-pentenyl radicals

This paper is concerned with the mechanisms and rate constants for the decomposition of 1-penten-3-yl, 1-penten-4-yl, and 1-penten-5-yl radicals. They are formed from radical attack on 1-pentene, which is an important decomposition product of normal alkyl radicals with more than 6 carbon atoms in combustion systems. This work is based on related data in the literature. These involve rate constants for the reverse radical addition process under high-pressure conditions, chemical activation experiments, and more recent direct studies. The high-pressure rate constants are based on detailed balance. The energy transfer effects and the pressure dependences of the rate constants are determined through the solution of the master equation and are projected to cover combustion conditions. The low barriers to these reactions make it necessary to treat these thermal reactions as open systems, as in chemical activation studies. The multiple reaction channels make the nature of the pressure effects different from those usually described in standard texts. The order of stability is 1-penten-3-yl approximately 1-penten-4-yl > 1-penten-5-yl and straddles those for the n-alkyl radicals. A key feature in these reactions is the effects traceable to allylic resonance. However, the 50 kJ/mol allylic resonance energy is not fully manifested. The important unsaturated products are 1,3-butadiene, the pentadienes, allyl radicals, and vinyl radicals. The results are compared with the recommendations in the literature, and significant differences are noted. Extensions to larger radicals with similar structures are discussed.     

Ab initio study on alkyl radical decomposition and alkyl radical addition to olefins

The β bond dissociation of alkyl radicals and their reverse reactions, the addition of alkyl radicals to olefins were studied by G3MP2 level of theory to obtain a consistent kinetic data set. Both reaction families can be classified depending on the type of radical formed by β bond scission, namely the CH₃, primary, secondary tertiary radical formed. The kinetics of the reaction classes were described by only a limited number of Arrhenius parameters. The unified A factor of 10^13.7 s⁻¹ was found for all β bond dissociations. The Arrhenius activation energies are 125, 121, 113 and 103 kJ mol⁻¹, for methyl, primary, secondary, and tertiary radicals, respectively. The activation energies of 32, 25 and 18 kJ mol⁻¹ are calculated for the terminal addition of primary (including methyl), secondary, and tertiary radicals to olefins, respectively. The biologically important nonterminal radical additions to olefins have higher barriers of 37, 31 and 35 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. At room temperature both strongly exothermic additions can compete with H-atom abstraction. New groups for Benson’s group additivity rules were defined to describe activation parameters for the β bond dissociation reactions. The group values were calculated by using the ab initio heats of formation of transition state structures.     

Reactivity of quinones as alkyl radical acceptors

The enthalpies of the addition of 11 alkyl radicals to ortho-and para-benzoquinones and substituted para-benzoquinones and the enthalpies of formation of various alkoxyphenoxyl radicals have been calculated. Experimental data for the addition of alkyl radicals to quinones are analyzed in terms of the intersection of two parabolic potential curves, and parameters characterizing this class of reactions are calculated. The classical potential barrier of the thermally neutral reaction of alkyl radical addition to benzoquinone is E _e,0 = 82.1 kJ/mol. This class of reactions is compared to other classes of free-radical addition reactions. The interaction between the electrons of the reaction center and the π electrons of the aromatic ring is a significant factor in the activation energy. Activation energies, rate constants, and the geometric parameters of the transition state have been calculated for 40 reactions of alkyl radical addition to quinones. Strong polar interaction has been revealed in the addition of polar macroradicals to quinones, and its contribution to the activation energy has been estimated. Kinetic parameters, activation energies, and rate constants have been calculated for the reverse reactions of alkoxyphenoxyl radical decomposition to quinone and alkyl. The competition between chain termination and propagation reactions in alkoxyphenol-inhibited hydrocarbon oxidation is discussed.     

Solvent‐Free Photooxidation of Alkanes by Dioxygen with 2,3‐Dichloro‐5,6‐dicyano‐p‐benzoquinone via Photoinduced Electron Transfer

Photooxidation of alkanes by dioxygen occurred under visible light irradiation of 2,3‐dichloro‐5,6‐dicyano‐p‐benzoquinone (DDQ) which acts as a super photooxidant. Solvent‐free hydroxylation of cyclohexane and alkanes is initiated by electron transfer from alkanes to the singlet and triplet excited states of DDQ to afford the corresponding radical cations and DDQ^??, as revealed by femtosecond laser‐induced transient absorption measurements. Alkane radical cations readily deprotonate to produce alkyl radicals, which react with dioxygen to afford alkylperoxyl radicals. Alkylperoxyl radicals abstract hydrogen atoms from alkanes to yield alkyl hydroperoxides, accompanied by regeneration of alkyl radicals to constitute the radical chain reactions, so called autoxidation. The radical chain is terminated in the bimolecular reactions of alkylperoxyl radicals to yield the corresponding alcohols and ketones. DDQ^??, produced by the photoinduced electron transfer from alkanes to the excited state of DDQ, disproportionates with protons to yield DDQH₂.     

Thermochemical properties, DeltafH degrees (298), S degrees (298), and Cp degrees (T), for n-butyl and n-pentyl hydroperoxides and the alkyl and peroxy radicals, transition states, and kinetics for intramolecular hydrogen shift reactions of the peroxy radicals

Alkyl radicals in atmospheric and combustion environments undergo a rapid association with molecular oxygen (3O2) to form an alkyl peroxy radical (ROO*). One important reaction of these peroxy radicals is the intramolecular H-shift (intramolecular abstraction) to form a hydroperoxide alkyl radical (R'*COOH), where the hydroperoxide alkyl radical may undergo chemical activation reaction with O2 and result in chain branching at moderate to low temperatures. The thermochemistry and trends in kinetic parameters for the hydrogen shift reactions from each carbon (4-8-member-ring TST's) in n-butyl and n-pentyl peroxy radicals (CCCCOO* and CCCCCOO*) are analyzed using density functional and ab initio calculation methods. Thermochemical properties, DeltafH degrees (298 K), C-H bond energies, S degrees (298 K), and Cp degrees (T) of saturated linear C4 and C5 aliphatic peroxides (ROOH), as well as the corresponding hydroperoxide alkyl radicals (R'*COOH), are determined. DeltafH degrees (298 K) are obtained from isodesmic reactions and the total energies of the CBS-QB3 and B3LYP computational methods. Contributions to the entropy and the heat capacity from translation, vibration, and external rotation are calculated using the rigid-rotor-harmonic-oscillator approximation based on the CBS-QB3 frequencies and structures. The results indicate that pre-exponential factors, A(T), decrease with the increase of the ring size (4-8-member-ring TS, H-atom included). The DeltaH for 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-member rings in n-butyl (and n-pentyl) peroxy are 40.8 (40.8), 31.4 (31.5), 20.5 (20.0), 22.6-p (19.4) kcal mol(-1), respectively. The DeltaH for the 8-member ring in n-pentylperoxy is 23.8-p kcal mol(-1), All abstractions are from secondary (-CH2-) groups except those marked (-p), which are from primary sites. Enthalpy and barrier values from the B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,p) and BHandHLYP/6-311G(d,p) methods are compared with CBS-QB3 results. The B3LYP results show good agreement with the higher level CBS-QB3 calculation method; the BHandH barriers for the intramolecular peroxy H-shifts are not acceptable.     

Ab initio study of hydrogen migration in 1-alkylperoxy radicals

Alkylperoxy and hydroperoxyalkyl radicals are key reactive intermediates in hydrocarbon oxidation mechanisms. An understanding of the interconversion of these two species via a hydrogen migration reaction is of fundamental importance to the prediction of chain branching reactions and end product composition. An extensive ab initio investigation of the hydrogen migration reaction in 1-ethyl, 1-propyl, 1-butyl, 1-pentyl, and 1-hexylperoxy radicals is conducted to assess the validity of using cycloalkanes to model the ring strain of their transition states as well as the effect of both location of the migrating hydrogen and directionality of the remaining alkyl chain in the transition state of the reaction involving a secondary hydrogen. The G2 and CBS-Q composite methods are used to determine the activation energy and enthalpy of reaction relative to the alkylperoxy radical. Both methods show good agreement with five experimentally determined reaction enthalpies, having root mean squared deviations of 0.7 and 1.3 kcal mol(-1) for the CBS-Q and G2 methods, respectively. The effect of hydrogen abstraction site and transition state geometry, particularly axial and equatorial geometries of the remaining alkyl chain, on the activation energy, Arrhenius A-factor, tunneling, and rate coefficient are discussed. Differences between terminal adjacent and nonterminal adjacent secondary sites result in small but consistent differences in barrier height. Failure of key assumptions within the cycloalkane based estimation method leads to the break down in the accuracy for both small and large transition states. For large transition states, the breakdown of these assumptions also results in the failure of the current cycloalkane method as a conceptual model. Of great interest is the observed alteration in the preferred H-migration from the 1,5 to the 1,6 H-migration within the temperature region where these reactions are particularly important to the combustion mechanism.     

Rate constants for reactions of alkyl radicals with water and methanol complexes of triethylborane

Reactions of secondary alkyl radicals with triethylborane and several of its complexes were studied. The H-atom transfer reactions from Et3B-OH2 and Et3B-OD2 were suppressed by addition of pyridine to the reaction mixture. Rate constants for reactions of secondary alkyl radicals with triethylborane and its complexes with water, deuterium oxide, methanol, and THF at ambient temperature were determined by radical clock methods. Cyclization of the 1-undecyl-5-hexenyl radical and ring opening of the 1-cyclobutyldodecyl radical were evaluated as clock reactions. The cyclobutylcarbinyl radical ring opening had the appropriate velocity for relatively precise determinations of the ratios of rate constants for H-atom transfer trapping and rearrangement, and these ratios combined with an estimated rate constant for the cyclobutylcarbinyl radical ring opening gave absolute values for the rate constants for the H-atom transfer reactions. For example, the triethylborane-water complex reacts with a secondary alkyl radical in benzene at 20 degrees C with a rate constant of 2 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1). Variable temperature studies with the Et3B-CH3OH complex in toluene indicate that the hydrogen atom transfer reaction has unusually high entropic demand, which results in substantially more efficient hydrogen atom transfer trapping reactions in competition with radical ring opening and cyclization reactions at reduced temperatures.     

The Impact of Resonance Stabilization on the Intramolecular Hydrogen‐Atom Shift Reactions of Hydrocarbon Radicals

A series of intramolecular H‐atom shift reactions of both alkenyl and allylic radicals were investigated by using CBS‐QB3 electronic structure calculations. In the first set of reactions, an alkyl radical site was converted into an allylic radical site. In the second set, an allylic radical was converted into another allylic radical. The results are discussed in the context of a Benson‐type model to examine the impact of the transition‐state partial resonance stabilization on both the activation energies and the pre‐exponential factors. In most cases, the differences in the activation energies relative to those for the analogous alkyl radicals are primarily due to the barriers of the bimolecular reaction component of the activation energy. For the first set of reactions, there is additional entropy loss relative to the alkyl radical analogues. This additional loss of entropy may be smaller than some previous estimates. The pre‐exponential factors for the second set of reactions are generally similar to those of the analogous alkyl radical reactions (once the double bond in the transition state is accounted for).     

Role of O2 + QOOH in low-temperature ignition of propane. 1. Temperature and pressure dependent rate coefficients

The kinetics of the reaction of molecular oxygen with hydroperoxyalkyl radicals have been studied theoretically. These reactions, often referred to as second O(2) addition, or O(2) + QOOH reactions, are believed to be responsible for low-temperature chain branching in hydrocarbon oxidation. The O(2) + propyl system was chosen as a model system. High-level ab initio calculations of the C(3)H(7)O(2) and C(3)H(7)O(4) potential energy surfaces are coupled with RRKM master equation methods to compute the temperature and pressure dependence of the rate coefficients. Variable reaction coordinate transition-state theory is used to characterize the barrierless transition states for the O(2) + QOOH addition reactions as well as subsequent C(3)H(6)O(3) dissociation reactions. A simple kinetic mechanism is developed to illustrate the conditions under which the second O(2) addition increases the number of radicals. The sequential reactions O(2) + QOOH → OOQOOH → OH + keto-hydroperoxide → OH + OH + oxy-radical and the corresponding formally direct (or well skipping) reaction O(2) + QOOH → OH + OH + oxy-radical increase the total number of radicals. Chain branching through this reaction is maximized in the temperature range 600-900 K for pressures between 0.1 and 10 atm. The results confirm that n-propyl is the smallest alkyl radical to exhibit the low-temperature combustion properties of larger alkyl radicals, but n-butyl is perhaps a truer combustion archetype.     

Rate constant estimation for C1 to C4 alkyl and alkoxyl radical decomposition

Rate coefficients for alkyl and alkoxy radical decomposition are important in combustion, biological, and atmospheric processes. In this paper, rate constant expressions for C₁? C₄ alkyl and alkoxy radicals decomposition via β‐scission are recommended based on the reverse, exothermic reaction, the addition of a hydrogen atom or an alkyl radical to an olefin or carbonyl species with the decomposition reaction calculated using microscopic reversibility. The rate expressions have been estimated based on a wide‐range study of available experimental data. Rate coefficients for hydrogen atom and alkyl radical addition to an olefin show a strong temperature curvature. In addition, it is found that there is a correlation between the activation energy for addition and (i) the type of atom undergoing addition and (ii) whether this radical adds to the internal or terminal carbon atom of the olefin. Rate coefficients for alkoxy radical decomposition show a strong correlation to the ionization potential of the alkyl radical leaving group and on the enthalpy of reaction. It is shown that the activation energy for alkyl radical addition to a carbonyl species can be estimated as a function of the alkyl radical ionization potential and enthalpy of reaction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 250–275, 2006     

Ion-molecule reactions of primary radical cations in the liquid-phase radiolysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkanes: An EPR study

Radiation-chemical yields the liquid-phase radiolysis of C₅–C₁₂ n-alkanes were measured using the spin trap technique. The yields of n-alkyl radicals depended only slightly on the chain length in C₅–C₉ alkanes and amounted up to 30% of the total yield of trapped radicals; they were inhibited by the addition of charge scavengers. An analysis of the experimental results together with data on radicals in irradiated crystalline alkanes and radical cations in freon matrices showed that n-alkyl radicals results from the ion-molecule reactions of primary radical cations, whereas the protonated ions RH₂⁺ as products of these reactions are a source of sec-alkyl radicals. At least 60% of primary radical cations are consumed via these reaction pathways. A part of sec-alkyl radicals is due to gauche-conformers. The relative amount of primary alkyl radicals formed in the degradation of excited states and the subsequent charge neutralization processes should be insignificant.Translated from Khimiya Vysokikh Energii, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2005, pp. 5–14.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Belevskii, Belopushkin.     

Kinetics of the reaction of oh radicals with a series of branched alkanes at 297 ± 2 K

Relative rate constants for the reaction of OH radicals with a series of branched alkanes have been determined at 297 ± 2 K, using methyl nitrite photolysis in air as a source of OH radicals. Using a rate constant for the reaction of OH radicals with n-butane of 2.58 × 10^?12 cm³/molecule · s, the rate constants obtained are (× 10¹² cm³/molecule · s): isobutane, 2.29 ± 0.06; 2-methylbutane, 3.97 ± 0.11; 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2.66 ± 0.08; 2-methylpentane, 5.68 ± 0.24; 3-methylpentane, 5.78 ± 0.11; 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, 4.21 ± 0.08; 2,4-dimethylpentane, 5.26 ± 0.11; methylcyclohexane, 10.6 ± 0.3; 2,2,3,3-tetramethylbutane, 1.06 ± 0.08; and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, 3.66 ± 0.16. Rate constants for 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2,4-dimethylpentane, and methylclohexane have been determined for the first time, while those for the other branched alkanes are in generally good agreement with the literature data. Primary, secondary, and tertiary group rate constants at room temperature have been derived from these and previous data for alkanes and unstrained cycloalkanes, with the secondary and tertiary group rate constants depending in a systematic manner on the identity of the neighboring groups. The use of these group rate constants, together with a previous determination of the effect of ring strain energy on the OH radical rate constants for a series of cycloalkanes, allows the a priori estimation of OH radical rate constants for alkanes and cycloalkanes at room temperature.     

Radical addition to 1,4-benzoquinones: addition at O- versus C-atom

Addition of alkyl radicals generated from B-alkylcatecholboranes onto 1,4-benzoquinones leads to substituted hydroquinones in good overall yields. Formation of aryl ethers via a unique radical addition to the oxygen atom of the enone system is the main reaction when bulky secondary and tertiary alkyl radicals are used. Less hindered secondary and primary radicals give the expected 1,4-conjugate addition products. [reaction: see text]     

Unimolecular Reaction Properties for the Long‐Chain Alkenyl Radicals

Although alkenyl radicals are important intermediates involved in both alkanes and alkenes combustion, previous kinetic studies on them are very limited, especially for the long‐chain alkenyl radicals. To deeply investigate unimolecular reaction activities of long‐chain alkenyl radicals, a series of octenyl (C₈H₁₅) radicals were chosen to study the reaction kinetics of three typical types of reactions (i.e., intramolecular radical addition, internal H‐migration, and bond dissociation) in this work. The CBS‐QB3 method was used to build potential energy surfaces for these reactions, and the transition state theory was applied to obtain the high‐pressure limit rate constants. Some general rules are observed from our systematic calculations in respect of structure–activity relationships.     

Radical chain reduction of alkylboron compounds with catechols

The conversion of alkylboranes to the corresponding alkanes is classically per-formed via protonolysis of alkylboranes. This simple reaction requires the use of severe reaction conditions, that is, treatment with a carboxylic acid at high temperature (>150 °C). We report here a mild radical procedure for the transformation of organoboranes to alkanes. 4-tert-Butylcatechol, a well-established radical inhibitor and antioxidant, is acting as a source of hydrogen atoms. An efficient chain reaction is observed due to the exceptional reactivity of phenoxyl radicals toward alkylboranes. The reaction has been applied to a wide range of organoboron derivatives such as B-alkylcatecholboranes, trialkylboranes, pinacolboronates, and alkylboronic acids. Furthermore, the so far elusive rate constants for the hydrogen transfer between secondary alkyl radical and catechol derivatives have been experimentally determined. Interestingly, they are less than 1 order of magnitude slower than that of tin hydride at 80 °C, making catechols particularly attractive for a wide range of transformations involving C-C bond formation.