| Abstract: | Absolute values of the rate constants for the reaction of hydrogen atoms with cyclic olefins in the gas phase have been measured in a discharge-flow system under 3.5, 16, and 22 torr Ar at 23°C. The attenuation of hydrogen atom concentration in the reaction tube in the presence of a large excess of olefin was measured with an ESR spectrometer, and the products were analyzed by gas chromatography. Cyclic C6 hydrocarbons were the only significant products obtained when the hydrogen atom concentration was 2.6 × 10?10 mole/1., the olefin concentration was in the range of 9 to 22 × 10?8 mole/1., and the pressure was 16 torr Ar. The values for the rate constants for reaction with cyclohexadiene-1,3, cyclohexadiene-1,4, and cyclohexene are, respectively, (9 ± 2) × 108, (12 ± 1) × 108, and (6 ± 1) × 108 l./mole-sec, and they are not changed significantly by a sixfold change in total pressure. The fraction of the total interaction that proceeds by addition is 84% in the cyclohexadiene-1,3 system, but only 18% in the cyclohexadiene-1,4 system, and the cyclohexadienyl radical is therefore the dominant radical species in the latter system. The pattern of interaction between the hydrogen atom and the cyclohexadienyl radical was determined, and comprises 65% of disproportionation, and 13% and 23% of combination to yield cyclohexadiene-1,3 and cyclohexadiene-1,4, respectively. These results are consistent with the general patterns of reactivity emerging from studies of the reactions between free radicals and olefins in related systems. |
