High-Temperature Shock Tube Measurements of Dimethyl Ether Decomposition and the Reaction of Dimethyl Ether with OH

Detection and Identification of the Keto-Hydroperoxide (HOOCH2OCHO) and Other Intermediates during Low-Temperature Oxidation of Dimethyl Ether

In this paper we report the detection and identification of the keto-hydroperoxide (hydroperoxymethyl formate, HPMF, HOOCH2OCHO) and other partially oxidized intermediate species arising from the low-temperature (540 K) oxidation of dimethyl ether (DME). These observations were made possible by coupling a jet-stirred reactor with molecular-beam sampling capabilities, operated near atmospheric pressure, to a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer that employs single-photon ionization via tunable synchrotron-generated vacuum-ultraviolet radiation. On the basis of experimentally observed ionization thresholds and fragmentation appearance energies, interpreted with the aid of ab initio calculations, we have identified HPMF and its conceivable decomposition products HC(O)O(O)CH (formic acid anhydride), HC(O)OOH (performic acid), and HOC(O)OH (carbonic acid). Other intermediates that were detected and identified include HC(O)OCH3 (methyl formate), cycl-CH2-O-CH2-O- (1,3-dioxetane), CH3OOH (methyl hydroperoxide), HC(O)OH (formic acid), and H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). We show that the theoretical characterization of multiple conformeric structures of some intermediates is required when interpreting the experimentally observed ionization thresholds, and a simple method is presented for estimating the importance of multiple conformers at the estimated temperature (∼100 K) of the present molecular beam. We also discuss possible formation pathways of the detected species: for example, supported by potential energy surface calculations, we show that performic acid may be a minor channel of the O2 + ĊH2OCH2OOH reaction, resulting from the decomposition of the HOOCH2OĊHOOH intermediate, which predominantly leads to the HPMF.

A combined experimental and theoretical study of reactions between the hydroxyl radical and oxygenated hydrocarbons relevant to astrochemical environments

Rate coefficients for the reactions of the hydroxyl radical with acetone and dimethyl ether increase dramatically at very low temperatures.

Thermal dissociation of ethylene glycol vinyl ether

The pyrolysis of ethylene glycol vinyl ether (EGVE), an initial product of 1,4-dioxane dissociation, was examined in a diaphragmless shock tube (DFST) using laser schlieren densitometry (LS) at 57 ± 2 and 122 ± 3 Torr over 1200-1800 K. DFST/time-of-flight mass spectrometry experiments were also performed to identify reaction products. EGVE was found to dissociate via two channels: (1) a molecular H atom transfer/C-O scission to produce C(2)H(3)OH and CH(3)CHO, and (2) a radical channel involving C-O bond fission generating ˙CH(2)CH(2)OH and ˙CH(2)CHO radicals, with the second channel being strongly dominant over the entire experimental range. A reaction mechanism was constructed for the pyrolysis of EGVE which simulates the LS profiles very well over the full experimental range. The decomposition of EGVE is clearly well into the falloff region for these conditions, and a Gorin model RRKM fit was obtained for the dominant radical channel. The results are in good agreement with the experimental data and suggest the following rate coefficient expressions: k(2,∞) = (6.71 ± 2.6) × 10(27) × T(-3.21)exp(-35512/T) s(-1); k(2)(120 Torr) = (1.23 ± 0.5) × 10(92) × T(-22.87)exp(-48 248/T) s(-1); k(2)(60 Torr) = (2.59 ± 1.0) × 10(88) × T(-21.96)exp(-46283/T) s(-1).