Pyrolytic production of Se (3P) from carbon diselenide. II. Rate of CSe2 decay

Pyrolytic decay of carbon diselenide was monitored by ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy in reflected shock waves in the temperature range of 1600–2600°K. The temperature dependence of the absorption coefficient of CSe₂ at 2308 Å was determined and was used to provide kinetic information along with a deconvolution procedure which accounted for and removed systematic distortions of the fast time-resolved absorbance profile. For temperatures of 1600–2600°K and argon densities of 1.5–7.0 × 10^?5 mol/cm³ dilute (1.0–9.0 × 10^?9 mol/cm³) CSe₂ pyrolyzed with measured first-order decay rates in the range of log₁₀ k₁ (sec^?1) = 3.0?5.7; at midrange (2100°K and 4.3 × 10^?5 mol/cm³ in Ar) k₁ ≈ 3 × 10⁴ sec^?1. The decay probably occurs via a unimolecular low-pressure process, first order in both CSe₂ and Ar, for which k₂ ± 10⁹ cm³/mol·sec at 2100°K. The deconvoluted data yield Arrhenius activation energies of 53.2 kcal/mol under second-order treatment, but the activation energy is less reliable than the general magnitude of the rate constant. A comparison of CSe₂ with other molecules which are isoelectronic in their valence shells (CO₂, CS₂, OCS, and N₂O) is made.