Activation energies of the reversible reaction between hydrogen atoms and methane to give hydrogen and methyl radicals

Author(s):  
R. W. Walker
1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1339-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Brinton

The reaction of methyl radicals with a group of amines and amine-like compounds has been investigated in the temperature range 125° to 157 °C. The abstraction activation energies of hydrogen atoms from these compounds, the corresponding pre-exponential factors, and the actual reaction rates indicate that the N—H hydrogen atoms are more labile than the C—H atoms in these compounds.


The rates of dehydrogenation in competition experiments using mixtures of two naphthenes, or a naphthene and a cyclic mono-olefine or two cyclic mono-olefines, have been examined theoretically and experimentally for the stationary state conditions. Provided the two reactants can occupy the same sites on the catalyst surface, then the ratio of the rates should be directly proportional to the ratio of the partial pressures at any instant. Theory suggests that a constant which can be derived from these competition experiments should be independent of the overall pressures, or of the initial ratio of concentrations or of the overall extent of dehydrogenation. Further, the ratio of the rates in competition should bear no simple relationship to the ratio of the individual rates alone, but should be related to the slopes of the 1/rate against 1/pressure plot for the two components considered separately. Moreover, the constant should be a ratio of two functions each of which is characteristic of one of the naphthenes. The theoretical conclusions have been confirmed experimentally which proves either that the groups of active sites on the catalyst surface are widely separated or that any set of sites is available for the reaction of any molecular species, and no interference takes place between naphthene molecules adsorbed on adjacent sites. Proof that a naphthene and cyclohexene are dehydrogenated on the same sites is supplied by the observation that a constant is obtained when different mixtures of cyclohexene and trans -1:4-dimethyl cyclohexane are allowed to compete for the surface. The ratios for methyl, ethyl, the three dimethyl and the three trimethyl cyclohexanes in competition with cyclohexane have been accurately determined at temperatures of 400 and 450° C. From the constants so derived the activation energy differences for the removal of the first pair of hydrogen atoms has been obtained. These values are discussed in terms of the possible transition complexes, and it is shown that the reaction proceeds by the loss of a pair of hydrogen atoms simultaneously and not by a half-hydrogenated state mechanism. Using these activation energies and the experimentally found overall activation energy of 36 kcal./g. mol., the resonance energy per resonating structure was determined as 1-73 kcal. This is in good agreement with the energies of C-H bonds in alkyl radicals (2-2 kcal./g.mol./ resonating structure). The theoretical treatment suggests that the weakest C-H link in methyl cyclohexane should be in the three position to the methyl group. A study of the activation energies involved shows that the methyl cyclohexene produced from methyl cyclohexane is not 1-methyl-1-cyclohexene, thus confirming the theoretical deduction.


1964 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
MFR Mulcahy ◽  
DJ Williams ◽  
JR Wilmshurst

The kinetics of abstraction of hydrogen atoms from the methyl group of the toluene molecule by methyl radicals at 430-540�K have been determined. The methyl radicals were produced by pyrolysis of di-t-butyl peroxide in a stirred-flow system. The kinetics ,agree substantially with those obtained by previous authors using photolytic methods for generating the methyl radicals. At toluene and methyl-radical concentrations of about 5 x 10-7 and 10-11 mole cm-3 respectively the benzyl radicals resulting from the abstraction disappear almost entirely by combination with methyl radicals at the methylenic position. In this respect the benzyl radical behaves differently from the iso-electronic phenoxy radical, which previous work has shown to combine with a methyl radical mainly at ring positions. The investigation illustrates the application of stirred-flow technique to the study of the kinetics of free-radical reactions.


1956 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. B. Ayscough ◽  
E. W. R. Steacie

A study of the reactions of trifluoromethyl radicals, produced by the photolysis of hexafluoroacetone, with propane, n-butane, and isobutane has been made. The rate constants of the hydrogen-abstraction reactions have been determined at temperatures between 27 °C and 119 °C and the activation energies found to be 6.5 ± 0.5, 5.1 ± 0.3, and 4.7 ± 0.3 kcal./mole respectively. These values are compared with those obtained for the reactions with methane and ethane, and with the corresponding reactions of methyl radicals.


A detailed study has been made of the products from the reaction between hydrogen atoms and ethylene in a discharge-flow system at 290 ± 3 K. Total pressures in the range 8 to 16 Torr (1100 to 2200 Nm -2 ) of argon were used and the hydrogen atom and ethylene flow rates were in the ranges 5 to 10 and 0 to 20 μ mol s -1 , respectively. In agreement with previous work, the main products are methane and ethane ( ~ 95%) together with small amounts of propane and n -butane, measurements of which are reported for the first time. A detailed mechanism leading to formation of all the products is proposed. It is shown that the predominant source of ethane is the recombination of two methyl radicals, the rate of recombination of a hydrogen atom with an ethyl radical being negligible in comparison with the alternative, cracking reaction which produces two methyl radicals. A set of rate constants for the elementary steps in this mechanism has been derived with the aid of computer calculations, which gives an excellent fit with the experimental results. In this set, the values of the rate constant for the addition of a hydrogen atom to ethylene are at the low end of the range of previously measured values but are shown to lead to a more reasonable value for the rate constant of the cracking reaction of a hydrogen atom with an ethyl radical. It is shown that the recombination reaction of a hydrogen atom with a methyl radical, the source of methane, is close to its third-order region.


1951 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Trotman‐Dickenson ◽  
E. W. R. Steacie

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Gartaganis

The reaction of active nitrogen with ethanol has been investigated in the range 300 to 593 °K using a modified condensed-discharge Wood–Bonhoeffer fast-flow system. The only condensable products found in appreciable amounts were hydrogen cyanide and water. Hydrogen was the main noncondensable product. A very small amount of acetaldehyde was also formed along with traces of ethane, ethylene, methane, acetonitrile, cyanogen, and probably carbon monoxide. The overall activation energy is 3.4 kcal/mole. It is postulated that the mechanism consists of the formation of two fragments NC2H5 and OH, from which the condensable products result as follows:[Formula: see text]A number of products found in trace quantities are produced by concomitant reactions of the hydrogen atoms with methyl radicals, and with ethanol as well as by disproportionation of ethyl radicals to produce ethane and ethylene. A preliminary study of the reaction of active nitrogen with isopropanol indicated that the energy of activation is in line with the energies of activation of methanol and ethanol.


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