The pyrolysis of dimethyl sulfide,kinetics and mechanism

The kinetics of the gas phase pyrolysis of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) was studied in a static system at 681–723 K by monitoring total pressure-time behavior. Analysis showed the pressure increase to follow DMS loss. The reaction follows two concurrent paths: with a slow, minor, secondary reaction: In a seasoned reactor the reaction follows a 3/2 order rate law with rate coefficient given by with θ = 2.303 RT in kcal/mol. A free radical mechanism is proposed to account for the data and a theoretical rate coefficient is derived from independent data: which agrees well with the experimental one over the range studied. The reaction is initiated by Me₂S → Me + MeS? and propagated by metathetical radical attack on Me₂S. C₂H₄ is formed by an isomerization reaction which may in part be due to a hot radical: Thermochemical data are listed, many from estimations, for both molecular and radical species of interest in the present system.