High temperature pyrolysis of 1,5-cyclooctadiene and 4-vinylcyclohexene in shock waves

1,5-cyclooctadiene or 4-vinylcyclohexene mixture diluted with argon was heated to temperatures in the range 880–1230 K behind reflected shock waves. Profiles of IR-laser absorption were measured at 3.39 μm. From these profiles, rate constants k₁ and k₂ for the decyclization reactions 1,5-cyclooctadiene → biradical and 4-vinylcyclohexene → biradical were evaluated as k₁ = 5.2 × 10¹⁴ exp(?48.3 kcal/RT) s^?1 and k₂ = 3.5 × 10¹⁴ exp(?55.3 kcal/RT) s^?1, respectively. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.