Formation and photochemistry of organic sulfur compound–chlorine atom complexes

Photochemical reactions of organic sulfur compounds (CH₃SCH₃, C₂H₅SCH₃ and C₂H₅SC₂H₅)–chlorine atom complexes have been studied using a combined pulse radiolysis-laser flash photolysis technique. Excitation of all complexes has resulted in photobleaching with a similar quantum yield (0.37±0.07), independent of solvent polarities and concentration of solutes. The results were compared with previous studies of the analogous dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)–Cl complexes. It is concluded that the significant change of photobleaching quantum yields of the excited DMSO–Cl complex observed in the DMSO-CCl₄ mixed solvent is mainly due to the specific solvation effect of DMSO for cations.     

The temperature dependence of the cage effect in the gas phase

The photodissociation of iodine has been studied in the gas phase by laser flash photolysis. The decrease of the quantum yield with increasing ethane and propane pressure has been interpreted in terms of the cage effect. As the temperature is increased a less pronounced cage effect is observed. The trends in the measured quantum yields with changing temperature and pressure agree with model calculations for dissociation in a viscous continuum. However the simple model applied is not useful for quantitative predictions. A small decrease of the second order rate constant for iodine atom recombination has been observed with increasing temperature.     

Photodecomposition reaction of ethyl bromide at 147 nm

A vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of C₂H₅Br at 147 nm was studied over a pressure range of 0.5–50 torr at 298 K. The effects of additives He and NO were also investigated. The principal reaction products were found to be C₂H₄ and C₂H₆, with lesser yields of CH₄ and C₂H₂. With increasing pressure the product quantum yields Φ_i of C₂H₄, CH₄, and CH₂H₆ remained constant, while that of C₂H₂ decreased from 0.03 to almost 0. The effect of He as an additive was found to be extremely small on the quantum yields of the major products. Addition of NO completely suppresses the formation of CH₄, C₂H₂, and C₂H₆, and reduces partially the production of C₂H₄. The primary processes appear to involve two electronically excited states. One state mainly yields C₂H₄ by molecular elimination of HBr and is thought to be due to a Rydberg transition. The other state decomposes to C₂H₅ and Br radicals by C? Br bond fission. These two competitive reaction modes contribute to the photodecomposition in proportions of 50% and 50%. The extinction coefficient for C₂H₅Br at 147 nm and at 298 K has been determined as ? = (1/PL) In(I_o/I_t) = 712 ± 7 atm^?1 · cm^?1.     

Photolysis of ethyl-iodide in lithium chloride glassy aqueous solutions with light, λ = 254 nm at 77 K

The photolysis of C₂H₅I in a glassy salt matrix (5M, 7.5M, 10M) of aqueous LiCl at 77 K with light of λ = 254 nm has been conducted, product analysis being by ESR and UV spectroscopy. The electrolytic medium causes the ionization of product HI, and I^? concentrations can be continuously determined. During photolysis [I^?] is less than the amount of C₂H₅I decomposed. But after photolysis thaw-freeze cycling is accompanied by progressive growth in [I^?] until the yield matches the C₂H₅I loss, the quantum yields being 0.26, 0.20, and 0.17 for the three LiCl solutions, respectively. The quantum yield of unionized HI is unchanged, however, at around 0.36, the overall change being due to a fall in the extent to which the HI is ionized in the direct photolysis (ø = 0.22, 0.16, and 0.11). It is proposed that this is a consequence of the density increase of matrix packing as the LiCl concentration is increased so that fewer HI are in contact with the aqueous medium and cage recombination is favored. The results establish that the primary reaction is essentially exclusive: and that substantial aggregates of C₂H₅I exist within which HI are caged and cannot be ionized. The direct reaction occurs only to a trivial extent, ø; = 10^?4, C₂H₅ arising virtually totally via      

Photolysis of 1,1,1-trifluoromethylazomethane as a source of methyl and trifluoromethyl radicals

The photochemistry of 1,1,1-trifluoromethylazomethane has been partially characterized. The quantum yield for N₂ formation from photolysis at 366 nm and room temperature was unity at low pressure and decreased to 0.5 at 630 torr. At room temperature the principal products were C₂H₆, C₂F₆, CH₃CF₃ (or CH₂CF₂ + HF at reduced pressures), plus substituted hydrazines, which mainly arise from addition of CF₃ to the parent followed by combination of these radicals with CH₃ or CF_3. These fluorinated methyl hydrazine products detract from the general utility of CF₃-N₂-R compounds as sources for simultaneous study of the chemistry of CF₃ and R radicals. At room temperature the hydrazine products accounted for more than 50% of the total yield; however, these products can be reduced by lowering the temperature and at 195°K their yields are negligible. The quantum yield for intramolecular (direct) formation of CH₃CF₃ + N₂ was shown to be ≤0.002.     

Laser photolysis studies of hydrazine vapor: 193 and 222-nm H-atom primary quantum yields at 296 K,and the kinetics of H + N2H4 reaction over the temperature range 222–657 K

The primary quantum yield of H-atom production in the pulsed-laser photolysis of hydrazine vapor, N₂H₄ + hν → H + N₂H₃, was measured to be (1.01 ± 0.12) at 193 nm relative to HBr photolysis, and (1.06 ± 0.16) at 222 nm relative to 248-nm N₂H₄ photolysis, in excess He buffer gas at 296 K. The H-atoms were directly monitored in the photolysis by cw-resonance fluorescence detection of H(²S) at 121.6 nm. The high H-atom yield observed in the photolysis is consistent with the continuous ultraviolet absorption spectrum of N₂H₄ involving unit dissociation of the diamine from repulsive excited singlet state(s). The laser photodissociation of N₂H₄ was thus used as a ‘clean’ source of H-atoms in excess N₂H₄ and He buffer gas to study the gas-phase reaction, H + N₂H₄ → products; (k₁), in a thermostated photolysis reactor made of quartz or Pyrex. The pseudo-first-order temporal profiles of [H] decay immediately after photolysis were determined for a range of different hydrazine concentrations employed in the experiments to calculate the absolute second-order reaction rate coefficient, k₁. The Arrhenius expression was determined to be k₁ = (11.7 ± 0.7) × 10^?12 exp[?(1260 ± 20)/T] cm³ molec^?1 s^?1 in the temperature range 222–657 K. The rate coefficient at room temperature was, within experimental errors, independent of the He buffer gas pressure in the range 24.5–603 torr. The above temperature dependence of k₁ is in excellent agreement to that we determine in our discharge flow-tube apparatus in the temperature range 372–252 K and in 9.5 torr of He pressure. The Arrhenius parameters we report are consistent with a metathesis reaction mechanism involving the abstraction of hydrogen from N₂H₄ by the H-atom. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Photolysis of carbon tetrachloride in the presence of alkanes

The photolysis of carbon tetrachloride in the presence of a number of alkanes has been investigated in the gas phase. The products obtained from the photolysis experiments were those expected from a chain reaction in which trichloromethyl radicals abstract hydrogen atoms from the alkane. The data have been used to determine Arrhenius parameters for hydrogen abstraction from the series of alkanes CH₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₈, and i-C₄H₁₀ by trichloromethyl radicals, The rate data obtained are used to explain why termination reactions involving alkyl radicals become less significant as the alkane becomes more complex.     

Primary processes in the 147-nm photolysis of 1,1-dichloroethane

The room temperature photolysis of 1,1-dichloroethane at 147 nm in the pressure range of 1.34-196.2 torr is characterized almost entirely by the molecular elimination of HCl, Cl₂, and small quantities of H₂. Acetylene is also produced. While it is possible that the C₂H₂ arises, in part, from the decomposition of vibrationally excited ground states of C₂H₃Cl and/or C₂H₄, in this particlar case serious consideration has to be given to alternative explanations where the products of the primary processes are formed in electronically excited states. The ±, elimination of molecular chlorine is not inconsistent with an increased degree of Cl? Cl interaction predicted for a «Rydberg «state of 1,1-C₂H₄Cl₂. Varying small yields of CH₄ are observed in the presence and absence of NO. The effect of large pressures of CF₄ on the quantum yields of the major products is extremely small. The extinction coefficient for 1,1-C₂H₄Cl₂ at 147 nm and 296°K is 246 ± 29 cm^?1 ± atm^?1.     

Reaction of recoil tritium atoms with ethyl alcohol in the gas phase

Reaction of recoil tritium atoms with ethyl alcohol in the gas phase has been studied in the presence of moderator and scavenger. The total amount of tritium produced from³He (n, p) T reaction under given irradiation conditions is determined by adding methane as a monitor for each set of sample. The HT, CH₃T, C₂H₅T and C₂H₄TOH yields were due to the decrease of hot reaction with increasing moderator pressure. On the other hand, the C₂H₃T yield, due to the unimolecular reaction of excited CH₄TOH^* or C₂H₅T^* moleculas, decreased with increasing pressure. All tritiated compounds were analyzed by radio gas chromatography.     

Quantum efficiency of the 2537 A. Photolysis of a mixed phenyl–methyl polysiloxane

The ultraviolet (λ = 2537 A.) photolysis of a degassed mixed phenyl and methyl polysiloxane liquid is examined in terms of gas and crosslinking yields. Results are compared to the published values obtained by ionizing irradiation of this type of molecule. It is shown that ultraviolet radiation is less efficient by two orders of magnitude in producing decomposition (i.e., gaseous products) than is ionizing radiation. The comparisons for crosslinking efficiencies are less certain, but the yields seem to have much more similar values in this case based on a spectroscopic estimation of crosslinking (i.e., analysis for substituted phenylcyclohexadiene formation). The gas quantum yields were ?H₂ = 2.6 × 10^?5, ?CH₄ = 0.63 × 10^?5, ?C₂H₆ ≈ 0.12 × 10^?5, and ?C₂H₂ ≈ 0.06 × 10^?5.     

Generation and High‐Resolution Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Small Organic Radicals in Cold Supersonic Expansions

A general method of generating radicals in cold supersonic expansions in the gas phase is presented. The method relies on excimer laser photolysis of suitable precursor molecules in a thin quartz capillary mounted at the orifice of a pulsed gas nozzle and can easily be combined with vacuum‐UV photoionization mass spectrometry and high‐resolution photoelectron spectroscopy to study the reactivity and the rovibronic energy level structure of neutral radicals and their ions, as well as to determine highly accurate adiabatic ionization energies. The characteristics of the radical source are described in detail, and its performance is illustrated by mass spectrometric and high‐resolution photoelectron spectroscopic investigations of NH₂, CH₂, CH₃, C₂H, C₂H₃, and C₂H₅. The radical source is not only suitable to produce cold samples (rotational temperature of ca. 30 K) of radicals of moderate reactivity, such as NH₂, CH₃, or C₂H₅, but it is also useful to prepare highly reactive radicals (e.g., C₂H) for spectroscopic investigations.     

Formation of carbon nanoparticles by the condensation of supersaturated atomic vapor obtained by the laser photolysis of C3O2

A new technique is suggested for obtaining nanoparticles from highly supersaturated vapor resulting from the laser photolysis of volatile compounds. The growth of carbon nanoparticles resulting from C₃O₂ photolysis has been studied in detail. Absorbing UV quanta (from an Ar-F excimer laser), C₃O₂ molecules decompose to yield atomic carbon vapor with precisely known and readily controllable parameters. This is followed by the condensation of supersaturated carbon vapor and the formation of carbon nanoparticles. These processes have been investigated by the laser extinction and laser-induced incandescence (LII) methods in wide ranges of experimental conditions (carbon vapor concentration, nature of the diluent gas, and gas pressure). The current and ultimate particle sizes and the kinetic parameters of particle growth have been determined. The characteristic time of particle growth ranges between 20 and 1000 μs, depending on photolysis conditions. The ultimate particle size determined by electron microscopy is 5–12 nm for all experimental conditions. It increases with increasing total gas pressure and carbon vapor partial pressure and depends on the diluent gas. The translational energy accommodation coefficients for the Ar, He, CO, and C₃O₂ molecules interacting with the carbon particle surface have been determined by comparing the LII and electron microscopic particle sizes. A simple model has been constructed to describe the condensation of carbon nanoparticles from supersaturated atomic vapor. According to this model, the main process in nanoparticle formation is surface growth through the addition of separate atoms to the nucleation cluster. The nucleus concentrations for various condensation parameters have been determined by comparing experimental and calculated data.     

THE REACTION OF METHYLENE WITH METHYL CHLORIDE THE EFFECT OF EXCESS ENERGY IN METHYLENE

Abstract This paper reports studies of the reaction between methyl chloride and methylene produced by the photolysis of ketene in the two spectral regions Λ? 2600 Å to 3200 Å and Λ? 3220 Å. The course of reactin is best described by an abstraction process CH₂+ CH₂CI—Ch₂CI + CH₃ followed by recombination of the CH₃ and CH₂ Cl radicals to yield C₂H₅, C₂H₅Cl, C₂H₄Cl₂. The recombination processes are highly exothermic, and excitation of the product molecules occurs, which in the case of C₂H₅Cl and C₂H₄Cl₂ leads to some unimolecular decomposition. It is shown that the rate constant for the decomposition of ethyl chloride depends upon the wavelength of the radiation used to photolyse the ketene, and it is suggested that the excess energy with which the methylene is born is handed on to the alkyl radicals. A simplified kinetic analysis of the system is given, and it is shown that the relative reactivity of methylene towards ketene and methyl chloride increases with an increase in the energy of the methylene. The rates of product formation predicted on the basis of the kinetic scheme agree satisfactorily with the measured values. “Insertion” of methylene into C-H and C-CI bonds has been postulated by other workers. The present results are inconsisistent with an insertion mechanism, since such a mechanism does not account for all the observed products. The effect of wavelength of photolysis and of total pressure predicted on the basis of an insertion process is the reverse of that observed experimentally.     

Rate constant and a detailed error analysis for C2H3 + H reaction

The production and reactions of vinyl radicals and hydrogen atoms from the photolysis of vinyl iodide (C₂H₃I) at 193 nm have been examined employing laser photolysis coupled to kinetic-absorption spectroscopic and gas chromatographic product analysis techniques. The time history of vinyl radicals in the presence of hydrogen atoms was monitored using the 1,3-butadiene (the vinyl radical combination product) absorption at 210 nm. By employing kinetic modeling procedures a rate constant of 1.8 × 10^?10 cm² molecule^?1 s^?1 for the reaction C₂H₃ + H has been determined at 298 K and 27 KPa (200 torr) pressure. A detailed error analysis for determination of the C₂H₃ + H reaction rate constant, the initial C₂H₃ and H concentrations are performed. A combined uncertainty of ±0.43 × 10^?10 cm² molecule^?1 s^?1 for the above measured rate constant has been evaluated by combining the contribution of the random errors and the systematic errors (biases) due to uncertainties of each known parameter used in the modeling. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Organolithium complex as a gas sensing material for oxides from ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations

Gas sensing study of C₂H₄Li complex toward oxides viz. CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, SO, and SO₂ gas molecules has been carried out using ab initio method. Different possible configurations of gas molecule adsorption on C₂H₄Li complex are considered. The structural parameters of most stable configuration of gas molecule adsorbed complexes are thoroughly analysed. Electronic properties are studied using total density of states (DOS) plot. Charge transferred between the gas molecule and the substrate is studied using NBO charge analysis. Gas sensing of all the six gas molecules is possible at ambient conditions. Atom centred density matrix propagation (ADMP) molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that all the gas molecules remain adsorbed on C₂H₄Li complex at room temperature during the simulation. This study suggests that the C₂H₄Li complex acts as a novel gas sensing material for CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, SO, and SO₂ gas molecules at ambient conditions, below room temperature as well as at high pressure.     

Photochemistry of tetraalkylammonium tetrachlorocuprates in low-temperature matrices

The product composition and the principles of photochemical transformations of tetrahexylammonium tetrachlorocuprate [(RH)₄N⁺]₂[Cu^IICl₄]²⁻ (RH = C₆H₁₃) in 2-chlorobutane at 77 K have been found out by ESR spectroscopy. It has been shown that the photolysis of [(RH)₄N⁺]₂ [Cu^IICl₄]²⁻ results in the formation of alkyl radicals (R^⊙), presumably, anions [Cu^ICl₃]²⁻ and organic copper(II) compounds {Cu^IIR}. A reduction in the quantum yield of primary photolysis products during the reaction, nonequivalence of the quantum yield of the buildup of paramagnetic photolysis products to that of [Cu^IICl₄]²⁻ consumption, and a decrease in the total number of paramagnetic particles in the system during the photolysis have been revealed. A photolysis mechanism involving both photochemical and thermal processes is proposed.     

Pyrolysis and TG Analysis of Shivee Ovoo Coal from Mongolia

The coal sample of the Shivee Ovoo deposits has been non-isothermally pyrolysed in a thermogravimetric analyser to determine the influence of temperature, heating rate and purge gas employed on the thermal degradation of the sample. The heating rates investigated in the TG were 10–50 K min^–1 to final temperature of 1000°C. N₂or CO₂ were employed as well as type of purge gas on the process of thermal degradation of the coal sample. The coal was also investigated in a fixed bed reactor to determine the influence of temperature and heating rate of the pyrolysis on the yield of products and composition of the gases evolved. The main gases produced were H₂, CH₄, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₆ and C₃H₈ and also minor concentrations of other gases. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Photocatalytic conversions of ethanol,initiated by processes of electron phototransfer,in alkoxide-chloride complexes of titanium

A study has been made of the composition of reaction mixtures obtained in the process of photocatalytic formation of molecular hydrogen in ethanol solutions of titanium tetrachloride. It has been established that this process is accompanied by reactions of oxidation and decomposition of the ethanol molecules. Methane, ethane, acetaldehyde, and ethyl chloride have been identified. Kinetic relationships have been found for the formation of these compounds, and the quantum yields have been determined. In the initial stage of irradiation, CH₄, C₂H₆,and CH₃CHO are obtained. In the second stage, when most of the titanium ions are already in the +3 state of oxidation, the formation of methane and acetaldehyde ends, and H₂ and C₂H₆ become the main products. Possible reasons for the change in composition of the photolysis products are examined, and the basic features of the mechanism of this photocatalytic process are discussed.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 44–51, January–February, 1986.     

Isotope effect in Ni + C2H4 (C2D4) association reaction

The association reactions of atomic nickel with ethene and fully deuterated ethene in carbon dioxide buffer gas at 295 K have been investigated in the pressure range 5–100 torr, using a laser photolysis-laser fluorescence technique. By comparison with results of ab initio quantum chemistry calculations for the complex Ni[C₂H₄], the data are shown to be consistent with reaction on both ground and excited state potential energy surfaces. A simple rate equations treatment is described which shows the form of the pressure dependence of the second-order recombination rate coefficient in this case. Under conditions which are expected to hold for the Ni + C₂H₄ (C₂D₄) reaction, the pressure dependence has the standard Lindemann-Hinshelwood form, with the limiting high pressure rate constant given by an apparent value which reflects the degree to which the participating electronic states are coupled by nonadiabatic transitions. The limiting high pressure behavior of the recombination rate coefficient for Ni + C₂H₄ is not strongly affected by deuterium isotope substitution. However, the effect on the low pressure rate constant is large and consistent with RRKM unimolecular reaction theory. This validates the use of RRKM calculations for estimating the binding energy of the complex from kinetic data. The binding energy of Ni[C₂H₄] is estimated to be 35.2 ± 4.2 kcal mol^?1. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Soot formation from C2H2 and C2H4 pyrolysis at different temperatures

A study of the pyrolysis of two hydrocarbons, C₂H₂ and C₂H₄, at different temperatures has been carried out in order to compare their behaviour in terms of soot and gas yields and gas composition. Pyrolysis experiments have been performed in the same conditions for both hydrocarbons: an inlet hydrocarbon concentration of 15,000 ppmv and a temperature range of 1000–1200 °C. For C₂H₂ and C₂H₄ pyrolysis tests, the results present the same trend when increasing the temperature: an increase in soot yield, a decrease in gas yield and a similar evolution of the outlet gases. Comparatively, it can be observed that acetylene is a more sooting hydrocarbon than ethylene for a given temperature. Additionally, the study of soot reactivity with O₂ and NO shows that the soot samples obtained from ethylene show a slightly higher reactivity towards O₂ and NO than the soot samples formed from acetylene.