The kinetics and mechanism of the reaction of atomic oxygen with acetylene

Abstract

A photoionization mass spectrometer has been used to study the reaction of ground-state oxygen atoms with acetylene. The oxygen atoms were produced in the absence of molecular oxygen in a discharge-flow system with nitrogen as the principal carrier gas. Several of the free radicals and stable product molecules that were observed previously have been studied in more detail. Experiments with added gases have shown that the methylene radicals observed are probably in their ground, triplet state. The ratio of rate constants for the reactions of CH 2 with O 2 and O respectively was found to be approximately 1:10. The dependence of the C 3 H 3 radical concentration on the experimental conditions showed that C 3 H 3 was formed in a secondary reaction, probably involving an excited molecule or radical. The rate constant for the reaction of the HCCO radical with O 2 was measured as 2.2 ± 1.2х10 7 1 mol -1 s -1 . The product observed at mass 42 appears to be ground-state ketene formed in the primary step, perhaps via a triplet state. However, the possibility that the ketene might be formed in a secondary process cannot be dismissed. The rate constant for the reaction of ground-state oxygen atoms with ketene was measured, with a result significantly lower than a previous study. The diacetylene concentration showed a complex dependence on reaction conditions. Analysis of the approach of [C 4 H 2 ] to its steady-state concentration gave a rate constant for the reaction of oxygen atoms with diacetylene of 1.6 ± 0.5 х10 9 1 mol -1 s -1 . The relation of these results to previous studies is discussed briefly. It is suggested that a reaction of one or more of the energetic primary products, such as electronically excited CH 2 , HCCO or ketene, could be responsible for the chemiluminescence of CH, OH and CHO.