The decomposition and intramolecular H-transfer isomerization reactions of the 1-pentyl radical have been studied at temperatures of 880 to 1055 K and pressures of 80 to 680 kPa using the single pulse shock tube technique and additionally investigated with quantum chemical methods. The 1-pentyl radical was generated by shock heating dilute mixtures of 1-iodopentane and the stable products of its decomposition have been observed by postshock gas chromatographic analysis. Ethene and propene are the main olefin products and account for >97% of the carbon balance from 1-pentyl. Also produced are very small amounts of (E)-2-pentene, (Z)-2-pentene, and 1-butene. The ethene/propene product ratio is pressure dependent and varies from about 3 to 5 over the range of temperatures and pressures studied. Formation of ethene and propene can be related to the concentrations of 1-pentyl and 2-pentyl radicals in the system and the relative rates of five-center intramolecular H-transfer reactions and β C-C bond scissions. The 3-pentyl radical, formed via a four-center intramolecular H transfer, leads to 1-butene and plays only a very minor role in the system. The observed (E/Z)-2-pentenes can arise from a small amount of beta C-H bond scission in the 2-pentyl radical. The current experimental and computational results are considered in conjunction with relevant literature data from lower temperatures to develop a consistent kinetics model that reproduces the observed branching ratios and pressure effects. The present experimental results provide the first available data on the pressure dependence of the olefin product branching ratio for alkyl radical decomposition at high temperatures and require a value of <ΔE(down)(1000 K)> = (675 ± 100) cm(-1) for the average energy transferred in deactivating collisions in an argon bath gas when an exponential-down model is employed. High pressure rate expressions for the relevant H-transfer reactions and β bond scissions are derived and a Rice Ramsberger Kassel Marcus/Master Equation (RRKM/ME) analysis has been performed and used to extrapolate the data to temperatures between 700 and 1900 K and pressures of 10 to 1 × 10(5) kPa.

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Presented is a combined experimental and modeling study of the kinetics of the reactions of H and CH3 with n-butane, a representative aliphatic fuel. Abstraction of H from n-alkane fuels creates alkyl radicals that rapidly decompose at high temperatures to alkenes and daughter radicals. In combustion and pyrolysis, the branching ratio for attack on primary and secondary hydrogens is a key determinant of the initial olefin and radical pool, and results propagate through the chemistry of ignition, combustion, and byproduct formation. Experiments to determine relative and absolute rate constants for attack of H and CH3 have been carried out in a shock tube between 859 and 1136 K for methyl radicals and 890 to 1146 K for H atoms. Pressures ranged from 140 to 410 kPa. Appropriate precursors are used to thermally generate H and CH3 in separate experiments under dilute and well-defined conditions. A mathematical design algorithm has been applied to select the optimum experimental conditions. In conjunction with postshock product analyses, a network analysis based on the detailed chemical kinetic combustion model JetSurf 2 has been applied. Polynomial chaos expansion techniques and Monte Carlo methods are used to analyze the data and assess uncertainties. The present results provide the first experimental measurements of the branching ratios for attack of H and CH3 on primary and secondary hydrogens at temperatures near 1000 K. Results from the literature are reviewed and combined with the present data to generate evaluated rate expressions for attack on n-butane covering 300 to 2000 K for H atoms and 400 to 2000 K for methyl radicals. Values for generic n-alkanes and related hydrocarbons are also recommended. The present experiments and network analysis further demonstrate that the C-H bond scission channels in butyl radicals are an order of magnitude less important than currently indicated by JetSurf 2. Updated rate expressions for butyl radical fragmentation reactions are provided.

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The kinetics of the decomposition of 4-methyl-1-pentyl radicals have been studied from 927-1068 K at pressures of 1.78-2.44 bar using a single pulse shock tube with product analysis. The reactant radicals were formed from the thermal C-I bond fission of 1-iodo-4-methylpentane, and a radical inhibitor was used to prevent interference from bimolecular reactions. 4-Methyl-1-pentyl radicals undergo competing decomposition and isomerization reactions via beta-bond scission and 1, x-hydrogen migrations (x = 4, 5), respectively, to form short-chain radicals and alkenes. Major alkene products, in decreasing order of concentration, were propene, ethene, isobutene, and 1-pentene. The observed products are used to validate a RRKM/master equation (ME) chemical kinetics model of the pyrolysis. The presence of the branched methyl moiety has a significant impact on the observed reaction rates relative to analogous reaction rates in straight-chain radical systems. Systems that result in the formation of substituted radical or alkene products are found to be faster than reactions that form primary radical and alkene species. Pressure-dependent reaction rate constants from the RRKM/ME analysis are provided for all four H-transfer isomers at 500-1900 K and 0.1-1000 bar pressure for all of the decomposition and isomerization reactions in this system.