Isomerization and decomposition reactions in the pyrolysis of branched hydrocarbons: 4-methyl-1-pentyl radical

The kinetics of the decomposition of 4-methyl-1-pentyl radicals have been studied from 927-1068 K at pressures of 1.78-2.44 bar using a single pulse shock tube with product analysis. The reactant radicals were formed from the thermal C-I bond fission of 1-iodo-4-methylpentane, and a radical inhibitor was used to prevent interference from bimolecular reactions. 4-Methyl-1-pentyl radicals undergo competing decomposition and isomerization reactions via beta-bond scission and 1, x-hydrogen migrations (x = 4, 5), respectively, to form short-chain radicals and alkenes. Major alkene products, in decreasing order of concentration, were propene, ethene, isobutene, and 1-pentene. The observed products are used to validate a RRKM/master equation (ME) chemical kinetics model of the pyrolysis. The presence of the branched methyl moiety has a significant impact on the observed reaction rates relative to analogous reaction rates in straight-chain radical systems. Systems that result in the formation of substituted radical or alkene products are found to be faster than reactions that form primary radical and alkene species. Pressure-dependent reaction rate constants from the RRKM/ME analysis are provided for all four H-transfer isomers at 500-1900 K and 0.1-1000 bar pressure for all of the decomposition and isomerization reactions in this system.     

Ab initio study of the decomposition of 2,5-dimethylfuran

The initial steps in the thermal decomposition of 2,5-dimethylfuran are identified as scission of the C-H bond in the methyl side chain and formation of β- and α-carbenes via 3,2-H and 2,3-methyl shifts, respectively. A variety of channels are explored which prise the aromatic ring open and lead to a number of intermediates whose basic properties are essentially unknown. Once the furan ring is opened demethylation to yield highly unsaturated species such as allenylketenes appears to be a feature of this chemistry. The energetics of H abstraction by the hydroxyl radical (and other abstracting species) from a number of mono- and disubstituted methyl furans has been studied. H-atom addition to 2,5-dimethylfuran followed by methyl elimination is shown to be the most important route to formation of the less reactive 2-methylfuran. Identification of 2-ethenylfuran as an C(6)H(6)O intermediate in 2,5-dimethylfuran flames is probably not correct and is more likely the isomeric 2,5-dimethylene-2,5-dihydrofuran for which credible formation channels exist.     

Fulvenallene decomposition kinetics

While the decomposition kinetics of the benzyl radical has been studied in depth both from the experimental and the theoretical standpoint, much less is known about the reactivity of what is likely to be its main decomposition product, fulvenallene. In this work the high temperature reactivity of fulvenallene was investigated on a Potential Energy Surface (PES) consisting of 10 wells interconnected through 11 transition states using a 1 D Master Equation (ME). Rate constants were calculated using RRKM theory and the ME was integrated using a stochastic kinetic Monte Carlo code. It was found that two main decomposition channels are possible, the first is active on the singlet PES and leads to the formation of the fulvenallenyl radical and atomic hydrogen. The second requires intersystem crossing to the triplet PES and leads to acetylene and cyclopentadienylidene. ME simulations were performed calculating the microcanonical intersystem crossing frequency using Landau-Zener theory convoluting the crossing probability with RRKM rates evaluated at the conical intersection. It was found that the reaction channel leading to the cyclopentadienylidene diradical is only slightly faster than that leading to the fulvenallenyl radical, so that it can be concluded that both reactions are likely to be active in the investigated temperature (1500-2000 K) and pressure (0.05-50 bar) ranges. However, the simulations show that intersystem crossing is rate limiting for the first reaction channel, as the removal of this barrier leads to an increase of the rate constant by a factor of 2-3. Channel specific rate constants are reported as a function of temperature and pressure.     

Unimolecular dissociation of the CH3OCO radical: an intermediate in the CH3O + CO reaction

This work investigates the unimolecular dissociation of the methoxycarbonyl, CH(3)OCO, radical. Photolysis of methyl chloroformate at 193 nm produces nascent CH(3)OCO radicals with a distribution of internal energies, determined by the velocities of the momentum-matched Cl atoms, that spans the theoretically predicted barriers to the CH(3)O + CO and CH(3) + CO(2) product channels. Both electronic ground- and excited-state radicals undergo competitive dissociation to both product channels. The experimental product branching to CH(3) + CO(2) from the ground-state radical, about 70%, is orders of magnitude larger than Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM)-predicted branching, suggesting that previously calculated barriers to the CH(3)OCO --> CH(3) + CO(2) reaction are dramatically in error. Our electronic structure calculations reveal that the cis conformer of the transition state leading to the CH(3) + CO(2) product channel has a much lower barrier than the trans transition state. RRKM calculations using this cis transition state give product branching in agreement with the experimental branching. The data also suggest that our experiments produce a low-lying excited state of the CH(3)OCO radical and give an upper limit to its adiabatic excitation energy of 55 kcal/mol.     

Pheromone synthesis—63 Synthesis of both the enantiomers of 2,3-dihydro-2- isopropyl-2,5-dimethylfuran,a sex specific compound in females of the beetle hylecoetus dermestoidesL

Both the enantiomers of 2,3-dihydro-2-isopropyl-2,5-dimethylfuran were synthesized employing the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation reaction. The (R)-(—)-enantiomer of this cyclic enol ether was also synthesized starting from (R)-(—)-linalool.     

Study of the mechanism of recyclization of furans into thiophenes and selenophenes in conditions of acid catalysis. 6. Experiments with labeled atoms. Quantum chemical calculations of intermediates of recyclization and hydrolysis

The reaction of 2-methyl-5-R-furans (R=Me, Bu, 2,2-pentyl-2-methylpentyl) with H₂ ¹⁸O was investigated. Furans and the corresponding 2,5-alkanediones containing the¹⁸O isotope were obtained. The general characteristics of the recyclization and isotope exchange reactions were established. A kinetic study of recyclization of 2,5-dimethylfuran with¹⁶O and¹⁸O into 2,5-dimethylthiophene was conducted. A reverse kinetic isotope effect was found. The schemes of the mechanisms of these processes were refined based on the experimental data and quantum-chemical calculations of the recyclization and hydrolysis intermediates.See [1] for Communication 5.Scientific-Research Institute of Chemistry, N. G. Chernyshevskii Saratov State University, Saratov 410026. Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 8, pp. 1035–1042, August, 1997.     

Thermal decomposition of trimethylgallium Ga(CH3)3: a shock-tube study and first-principles calculations

The thermal decomposition of Ga(CH3)3 has been studied both experimentally in shock-heated gases and theoretically within an ab-initio framework. Experiments for pressures ranging from 0.3 to 4 bar were performed in a shock tube equipped with atomic resonance absorption spectroscopy (ARAS) for Ga atoms at 403.3 nm. Time-resolved measurements of Ga atom concentrations were conducted behind incident waves as well as behind reflected shock waves at temperatures between 1210 and 1630 K. The temporal variation in Ga-atom concentration was described by a reaction mechanism involving the successive abstraction of methyl radicals from Ga(CH3)3 (R1), Ga(CH3)2 (R2), and GaCH3 (R3), respectively, where the last reaction is the rate-limiting step leading to Ga-atom formation. The rate constant of this reaction (R3) was deduced from a simulation of the measured Ga-atom concentration profiles using thermochemical data from ab-initio calculations for the reactions R1 and R2 as input. The Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) method including variational transition state theory was applied for reaction R3 assuming a loose transition state. Structural parameters and vibrational frequencies of the reactant and transition state required for the RRKM calculations were obtained from first-principles simulations. The energy barrier E3(0) of reaction R3, which is the most sensitive parameter in the calculation, was adjusted until the RRKM rate constant matched the experimental one and was found to be E(0) = 288 kJ/mol. This value is in a good agreement with the corresponding ab-initio value of 266 kJ/mol. The rate constant of reaction R3 was found to be k 3/(cm(3) mol(-1)s(-1)) = 2.34 x 10(11) exp[-23330(K/ T)].     

Unimolecular dissociation of aniline molecular ion: A theoretical study

The potential energy surface (PES) for dissociation of aniline ion was determined using density functional theory molecular orbital calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. On the basis of the PES obtained, kinetic analysis was performed by Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) calculations. The RRKM dissociation rate constants agreed well with previous experimental data. The most favorable channel was formation of the cyclopentadiene ion by loss of HNC, occurring through consecutive ring opening and re-closure to a five-membered ring. Loss of H could compete with the HNC loss at high energy, which occurred by direct cleavage of an N–H bond or through ring expansion.     

Thermal reactions of benzoxazole. Single pulse shock tube experiments and quantum chemical calculations

The thermal decomposition of benzoxazole diluted in argon was studied behind reflected shock waves in a 2 in. i.d. single-pulse shock tube over the temperature range 1000-1350 K and at overall densities of approximately 3 x 10(-5) mol/cm(3). Two major products, o-hydroxybenzonitrile at high concentration and cyclopentadiene carbonitrile (accompanied by carbon monoxide) at much lower concentration, and four minor fragmentation products resulting from the decomposition were found in the postshock samples. They were, in order of decreasing abundance, benzonitrile, acetylene, HCN, and CH=C-CN and comprised of only a few percent of the overall product distribution. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out to determine the sequence of the unimolecular reactions that led to the formation of o-hydroxybenzonitrile and cyclopentadiene carbonitrile, the major products of the thermal reactions of benzoxazole. A potential energy surface leading directly from benzoxazole to cyclopentadiene carbonitrile could not be found, and it was shown that the latter is formed from the product o-hydroxybenzonitrile. In order that cyclopentadiene carbonitrile be produced, CO elimination and ring contraction from a six- to a five-membered ring must take place. A surface where CO elimination occurs prior to ring contraction was found to have very high barriers compared to the ones where ring contraction occurs prior to CO elimination and was not considered in our discussion. Rates for all the steps on the various surfaces were evaluated, kinetic schemes containing these steps were constructed, and multiwell calculations were performed to evaluate the mole percent of the two major products as a function of temperature. The agreement between the experimental results and these calculations, as shown graphically, is very good.     

Reactions of simple and peptidic alpha-carboxylate radical anions with dioxygen in the gas phase

α-Carboxylate radical anions are potential reactive intermediates in the free radical oxidation of biological molecules (e.g., fatty acids, peptides and proteins). We have synthesised well-defined α-carboxylate radical anions in the gas phase by UV laser photolysis of halogenated precursors in an ion-trap mass spectrometer. Reactions of isolated acetate (˙CH(2)CO(2)(-)) and 1-carboxylatobutyl (CH(3)CH(2)CH(2)˙CHCO(2)(-)) radical anions with dioxygen yield carbonate (CO(3)˙(-)) radical anions and this chemistry is shown to be a hallmark of oxidation in simple and alkyl-substituted cross-conjugated species. Previous solution phase studies have shown that C(α)-radicals in peptides, formed from free radical damage, combine with dioxygen to form peroxyl radicals that subsequently decompose into imine and keto acid products. Here, we demonstrate that a novel alternative pathway exists for two α-carboxylate C(α)-radical anions: the acetylglycinate radical anion (CH(3)C(O)NH˙CHCO(2)(-)) and the model peptide radical anion, YGGFG˙(-). Reaction of these radical anions with dioxygen results in concerted loss of carbon dioxide and hydroxyl radical. The reaction of the acetylglycinate radical anion with dioxygen reveals a two-stage process involving a slow, followed by a fast kinetic regime. Computational modelling suggests the reversible formation of the C(α) peroxyl radical facilitates proton transfer from the amide to the carboxylate group, a process reminiscent of, but distinctive from, classical proton-transfer catalysis. Interestingly, inclusion of this isomerization step in the RRKM/ME modelling of a G3SX level potential energy surface enables recapitulation of the experimentally observed two-stage kinetics.     

Trajectory calculations of OH radical- and Cl atom-initiated reaction of glyoxal: atmospheric chemistry of the HC(O)CO radical

On-the-fly quasi-classical trajectory calculations using the density functional method were carried out to investigate the dynamics of the HC(O)CO radical, formed by OH radical- and Cl atom-initiated reactions of glyoxal at 298 K. The energy difference between the A' HC(O)CO radical, formed immediately after H atom abstraction, and the most stable A″ HC(O)CO radical is estimated to be 6.0 kcal mol(-1). The surplus energy followed by relaxation from A' HC(O)CO to A″ HC(O)CO goes to internal energy of the nascent HC(O)CO radicals and causes prompt decomposition into HCO + CO. The average internal energy partitioned into the HC(O)CO radical is higher in the OH reaction than in the Cl reaction, in accordance with exothermicity of the reactions. A fraction of the nascent HC(O)CO radicals (91% for the OH reaction and 47% for the Cl reaction) promptly decomposes into HCO and CO within 2.5 ps. The remaining HC(O)CO radicals, which do not undergo prompt decomposition, decompose thermally or add with O(2) in the presence of O(2). I re-evaluated the previous two experiment results of the product yield ratio [CO]/[CO(2)] vs. [O(2)](-1) in the Cl atom-initiated reaction, in light of the reaction mechanism involving prompt decomposition. The two results give 9.5 × 10(6) s(-1) and 1.08 × 10(7) s(-1) for the thermal decomposition rate and 47% and 41% for the fraction of prompt decomposition in the Cl atom-initiated reaction, in good agreement with the present trajectory calculation.     

Pressure dependence for the CO quantum yield in the photolysis of acetone at 248 nm: a combined experimental and theoretical study

The quantum yield of CO in the laser pulse photolysis of acetone at 248 nm and at 298 K in the pressure range 20-900 mbar (N2) has been measured directly using quantitative infrared diode laser absorption of CO. It is found that the quantum yield of CO shows a significant dependence on total pressure with Phi(CO) decreasing with pressure from around 0.45 at 20 mbar to approximately 0.25 at 900 mbar. From a combination of ab initio quantum chemical calculations on the molecular properties of the acetyl (CH3CO) radical and its unimolecular fragmentation as well as the application of statistical (RRKM) and dynamical calculations we show that CO production results from prompt secondary fragmentation (via(2a)) of the internally excited primary CH3CO* photolysis product with an excess energy of approximately 62.8 kJ mol(-1). Hence, our findings are consistent with a consecutive photochemically induced decomposition model, viz. step (1): CH3COCH3+hv--> CH3CO*+ CH3, step (2a): CH3CO*--> CH3+ CO or step (2b) CH3CO*-(+M)--> CH3CO. Formation of CO via a direct and/or concerted channel CH3COCH3+hv--> 2CH(3)+ CO (1') is considered to be unimportant.     

The reaction of phenyl radical with molecular oxygen: a G2M study of the potential energy surface

Ab initio G2M calculations have been performed to investigate the potential energy surface for the reaction of C6H5 with O2. The reaction is shown to start with an exothermic barrierless addition of O2 to the radical site of C6H5 to produce phenylperoxy (1) and, possibly, 1,2-dioxaspiro[2.5]octadienyl (dioxiranyl, 8) radicals. Next, 1 loses the terminal oxygen atom to yield the phenoxy + O products (3) or rearranges to 8. The dioxiranyl can further isomerize to a seven-member ring 2-oxepinyloxy radical (10), which can give rise to various products including C5H5 + CO2, pyranyl + CO, o-benzoquinone + H, and 2-oxo-2,3-dihydrofuran-4-yl + C2H2. Once 10 is produced, it is unlikely to go back to 8 and 1, because the barriers separating 10 from the products are much lower than the reverse barrier from 10 to 8. Thus, the branching ratio of C6H5O + O against the other products is mostly controlled by the critical transition states between 1 and 3, 1 and 8, and 8 and 10. According to the calculated barriers, the most favorable product channel for the decomposition of 10 is C5H5 + CO2, followed by pyranyl + CO and o-benzoquinone + H. Since C6H5O + O and C5H5 + CO2 are expected to be the major primary products of the C6H5 + O2 reaction and thermal decomposition of C6H5O leads to C5H5 + CO, cyclopentadienyl radicals are likely to be the major product of phenyl radical oxidation, and so it results in degradation of the six-member aromatic ring to the five-member cyclopentadienyl ring. Future multichannel RRKM calculations of reaction rate constants are required to support these conclusions and to quantify the product branching ratios at various combustion conditions.     

Dissociation of the ground state vinoxy radical and its photolytic precursor chloroacetaldehyde: electronic nonadiabaticity and the suppression of the H+ketene channel

This work is a study of the competition between the two unimolecular reaction channels available to the vinoxy radical (CH(2)CHO), C-H fission to form H+ketene, and isomerization to the acetyl radical (CH(3)CO) followed by C-C fission to form CH(3) + CO. Chloroacetaldehyde (CH(2)ClCHO) was used as a photolytic precursor to the vinoxy radical in its ground state; photodissociation of chloroacetaldehyde at 193 nm produces vinoxy radicals with internal energies spanning the G3//B3LYP calculated barriers to the two available unimolecular reaction channels. The onset of the CH(3) + CO channel, via isomerization to the acetyl radical, was found to occur at an internal energy of 41 +/- 2 kcal/mol, agreeing well with our calculated isomerization barrier of 40.8 kcal/mol. Branching to the H+ketene channel was too small to be detected; we conclude that the branching to the H+ketene channel must be at least a factor of 200 lower than what is predicted by a RRKM analysis based on our electronic structure calculations. This dramatic result may be explained in part by the presence of a conical intersection at planar geometries along the reaction coordinate leading to H+ketene, which results in electronically nonadiabatic recrossing of the transition state.     

Effect of coordination with rhodium on the selectivity of the mass spectral fragmentation of 4,4-disubstituted 2,5-cyclohexadien-1-ones

Conclusion A comparative study was carried out on the electron impact fragmentation of 4,4-disubstituted 1-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadienes and their rhodium acetylacetonate complexes. The coordination of the diene ligands with rhodium leads to an increase in the selectivity of the decomposition of the molecular ions, which occurs exclusively with loss of the most stable radical located at the geminal unit of the hydrocarbon -ligand and leads to (4-methyl-1-oxocyclohexadienyl) acetylacetonatorhodium cations.2. 15-, 16-, 17-, and 18-Electron complexes containing 4,4-dialkyl-1-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadiene (L) or 4-methyl-1-oxocyclohexadienyl ligands are obtained in the reaction of [acacRh · (CO)_n]⁺ and [(C₅H₅)Rh(CO)_n]⁺ ions (n=0–2) with 4,4-disubstituted 1-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadienes in the gas phase. The formation of [acacRh(CO)L]⁺ and [(C₅H₅)Rh(CO)L]⁺ ions indicated the reduced -donor capacity of 1-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadienes relative to 1-alkylidene-2,5-cyclohexadienes in reactions with rhodium-containing cations.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1088–1093, May, 1986.     

Ab initio molecular orbital and RRKM calculations of the thermal decomposition of CH2BrO radical

A theoretical study of the thermal decomposition and isomerization channels of bromomethoxy radical is carried out using ab initio molecular orbital methods and RRKM theory. Three kinds of reaction pathways are examined, bond scission, intramolecular three-center HBr elimination and isomerization. Energy-specific rate coefficients k(E) and thermal rate constants k(T,P) are evaluated using the ab initio data and RRKM theory. Relevance to existing experimental evidence is discussed.     

Kinetics of the gas-phase thermal decomposition of 3-bromopropene

The thermal decomposition of 3-bromopropene was investigated in the temperature range 568.2–653.2 K and pressures between 14–64 Torr in static Pyrex reaction vessel. The reaction was shown to be homogeneous gas reaction of the first order with more than 60% conversion. For the overall reaction, E _a = 153.67 ± 6.70 kJ mol^?1, and logA (A, s^?1) = 9.46 ± 0.57. Two mechanisms, dehydrohalogenation molecular elimination and C-Br bond fission are discussed, both of which account for the observed kinetics and products of decomposition. To interpret the fall-off behaviour, RRKM/ME calculations were adopted and the pressure dependent rate constants were calculated at collision efficiency of 0.25. From the pressure dependence study and RRKM calculations, it can be deduced that we are at the high-pressure limit.     

A combined experimental and theoretical study of the reaction between methylglyoxal and OH/OD radical: OH regeneration

Experimental studies have been conducted to determine the rate coefficient and mechanism of the reaction between methylglyoxal (CH(3)COCHO, MGLY) and the OH radical over a wide range of temperatures (233-500 K) and pressures (5-300 Torr). The rate coefficient is pressure independent with the following temperature dependence: k(3)(T) = (1.83 +/- 0.48) x 10(-12) exp((560 +/- 70)/T) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) (95% uncertainties). Addition of O(2) to the system leads to recycling of OH. The mechanism was investigated by varying the experimental conditions ([O(2)], [MGLY], temperature and pressure), and by modelling based on a G3X potential energy surface, rovibrational prior distribution calculations and master equation RRKM calculations. The mechanism can be described as follows: Addition of oxygen to the system shows that process (4) is fast and that CH(3)COCO completely dissociates. The acetyl radical formed from reaction (4) reacts with oxygen to regenerate OH radicals (5a). However, a significant fraction of acetyl radical formed by reaction (R4) is sufficiently energised to dissociate further to CH(3) + CO (R4b). Little or no pressure quenching of reaction (R4b) was observed. The rate coefficient for OD + MGLY was measured as k(9)(T) = (9.4 +/- 2.4) x 10(-13) exp((780 +/- 70)/T) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) over the temperature range 233-500 K. The reaction shows a noticeable inverse (k(H)/k(D) < 1) kinetic isotope effect below room temperature and a slight normal kinetic isotope effect (k(H)/k(D) > 1) at high temperature. The potential atmospheric implications of this work are discussed.     

The vacuum UV photolysis of various C4 and C5 olefins: The energy content of the α- and β-methallyl fragments

In recent publications from this laboratory, we have shown that the fragmentation of photoexcited olefinic molecules in the vacuum UV region leads mainly to the cleavage of a C—C bond located in the ß position relative to the double bond. The allyl fragment bears away part of the excess energy of the photon. At low pressure, this excited radical is capable of undergoing further decomposition. From the pressure effect, we were able to measure the first order rate constant for this secondary fragmentation. In this paper we shall use RRKM calculations in order to get a better idea on how the energy is distributed among the primary fragments. In cases where α- and β;-methallyl radicals were involved, the results show that an important part of the excess energy is located in the methallyl fragment in the 7.1 and 7.6 eV photolysis of 3-methyl-1-butene, 2-methyl-1-butene, and cis-2-pentene.