Kinetic studies of the reaction of C2H5 with O2 at 295 K

The reaction between C₂H₅ and O₂ at 295 K has been studied with a flow reactor sampled by a mass spectrometer. With helium as the carrier gas the rate coefficient was found to increase from (1.2 ± 0.3) × 10^?12 to (3.6 ± 0.9) × 10^?12 cm³/s as He] was increased from 2 × 10¹⁶ to 3.4 × 10¹⁷ cm^?3. The importance of has been determined from a knowledge of the initial C₂H₅ concentration together with a measurement of the C₂H₄ produced in reaction (5). F, the fraction of the C₂H₅ radicals removed by path (5), was found to decrease from 0.15 to 0.06 as He] increased from 2 × 10¹⁶ to 3.4 × 10¹⁷ cm^?3. The rate coefficient for reaction (5) was found to be independent of He] and to have a value of (2.1 ± 0.5) × 10^?13 cm³/s. The variation in F reflects the fact that k_1b increases as He] increases. These observations are taken as evidence for a direct mechanism for C₂H₄ production and a collision-stabilized route for C₂H₅O₂ formation. Calculations indicate that the high-pressure limit for reaction (1b) is ～4.4 × 10^?12 cm³/s and that in the polluted troposphere the branching ratio for reactions (1b) and (5) will be ～l20.