Alkane decompositions

Branched alkane decomposition becomes increasingly difficult, mainly as a result of the large number of possible isomers with the same molecular weight. 

In the presence of oxygen, ethylene yield is higher than hydrogen because ethylene arises from both decomposition (A) and oxidation (B) of ethane, whereas hydrogen is representative of this alkane decomposition (A) (see 1). 

At last, in the cases of isobutane, n-butane and isopentane, the presence of oxygen increases the relative weight of the deme-thanation" reaction (with regard to the other decomposition reactions of the alkane). This indicates that the free-radical becomes less easily oxidized than other chain carriers of the alkane decomposition. 

Results obtained in an investigation of the pyrolyses of four alkanes (ethane, n-butane, isobutane and isopentane) in the presence of trace amounts of oxygen, at low extent of reaction and around 500 C, are reported. The organic products of the primary oxidation are mainly olefins. According to experimental conditions (particularly to wall conditions of the reaction vessel), oxygen accelerates or inhibits the alkane decomposition. Walls inhibit the oxygen consumption. These experimental facts are interpreted and compared with recent results in literature. 

Rabinovitch B S and Setser D W 1964 Unimolecular decomposition and some isotope effects of simple alkanes and alkyl radicals Adv. Photochem. 3 1-82... 

Sheppard N and De La Cruz C 1998 Vibrational spectra of hydrocarbons adsorbed on metals. Part II. Adsorbed acyclic alkynes and alkanes, cyclic hydrocarbons including aromatics and surface hydrocarbon groups derived from the decomposition of alkyl halides, etc Adv. Catal. 42 181-313... 

In certain cases, alkanolamines function as reduciag agents. For example, monoethanolamine reduces anthraquiaone to anthranols, acetone to 2-propanol, and azobenzene to aniline (17). The reduction reaction depends on the decomposition of the alkan olamine iato ammonia and an aldehyde. Sinulady, diethan olamine converts o-chloronitrobenzene to 2,2 -dichloroazobenzene and y -dinitrobenzene to 3,3 -diamiQoazobenzene. 

Kinetic Models Used for Designs. Numerous free-radical reactions occur during cracking therefore, many simplified models have been used. For example, the reaction order for overall feed decomposition based on simple reactions for alkanes has been generalized (37). 

Trifluoromethyl-substituted diazonium betaines [176]. Synthetic routes to trifluoromethyl-substituted diazo alkanes, such as 2,2,2-trifluorodiazoethane [ 177, 7 78, 179] and alkyl 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-diazopropionates [24], have been developed Rhodium-catalyzed decomposition of 3,3,3-tnfluoro-2-diazopropionates offers a simple preparative route to highly reactive carbene complexes, which have an enormous synthetic potential [24] [3-1-2] Cycloaddition reactions were observed on reaction with nitnles to give 5-alkoxy-4-tnfluoromethyloxazoles [750] (equation 41)... 

British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin once said that "The Kingdom of Heaven runs on righteousness, but the Kingdom of Earth tuns on alkanes." Well, actually he said "tuns on oil" not "runs on alkanes," but they re essentially the same. By far, the major sources of alkanes are the world s natural gas and petroleum deposits. Laid down eons ago, these deposits are thought to be derived from the decomposition of plant and animal matter, primarily of marine origin. Natural gas consists chiefly of methane but also contains ethane, propane, and butane. Petroleum is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that must be separated into fractions and then further refined before it can be used. 

Comparative studies [1028,1052,1053] of the decompositions of Ni, Co and Cu alkanoates from formate to valerate showed that both the cation present and the length of the alkane chain influenced the temperature and enthalpy of decomposition. No such relationship was found [1048], however, between chain length and temperature of reaction of a series of nickel salts between the propionate and the stearate in a study which included some qualitative identifications of the products. Mass... 

The transformation of l-methylthio-l-(methylsulfonyl)alkanes (254) to methyl esters can be efficiently carried out by oxidation or by a-chlorination followed by methanolysis (equation 152)145. The lithium or the sodium salt of (phenylsulfonyl)nitromethane (256) is a very useful reagent for the preparation of higher homologues of nitromethanes by alkylation since the salts are air insensitive, non-hygroscopic, and easily handled without decomposition. The oxidation of the resulting secondary a-nitro sulfone (257) gives... 

The relative probabilities of Reactions 24, 25, and 26 were, respectively, 1.00, 0.25, and 0.12 at a hydrogen pressure of about 1 atmosphere (9). These numbers could be derived either by analyzing the stable alkanes formed in the unimolecular decompositions (Reactions 24-26) or from the products of the hydride transfer reactions between C5Hi2 and the alkyl ions. Elimination of H2 from protonated pentane may also occur, but it is difficult (although not impossible) to establish this reaction through neutral product analysis. 

The complexes are solids but are not useful as derivatives, since they melt, with decomposition of the complex, at the melting point of urea. They are useful, however, in separating isomers that would be quite difficult to separate otherwise. Thiourea also forms inclusion compounds though with channels of larger diameter, so that n-alkanes cannot be guests but, for example, 2-bromooctane, cyclohexane, and chloroform readily fit. 

Alkanes are formed when the radical intermediate abstracts hydrogen from solvent faster than it is oxidized to the carbocation. This reductive step is promoted by good hydrogen donor solvents. It is also more prevalent for primary alkyl radicals because of the higher activation energy associated with formation of primary carbocations. The most favorable conditions for alkane formation involve photochemical decomposition of the carboxylic acid in chloroform, which is a relatively good hydrogen donor. 

An intermediate organic nitroso compound RNO/ is formed, leading to N2 during its decomposition [1-5]. The mechanistic studies by Sachtler and co-workers [1 1] for the reduction of NOx by light alkanes over Fe/ZSM-5 involved adsorbed RNOx species which further react with gas-phase NOx to produce N2, through the decomposition of diazo compounds [2,4],... 

A corresponding correlation is obtained for the rate constants of a,a -phenyl substituted alkanes 26 (R1 = C6H5, R2 = H, R3 = alkyl) (see Fig. 1 )41). It has, however, a different slope and a different axis intercept. When both correlations are extrapolated to ESp = 0, a difference of about 16 kcal/mol in AG is found. This value is not unexpected because in the decomposition of a,a -phenyl substituted ethanes (Table 5, no. 22—27) resonance stabilized secondary benzyl radicals are formed. From Fig. 1 therefore a resonance energy of about 8 kcal/mol for a secondary benzyl radical is deduced. This is of the expected order of magnitude54. ... 

Recently, the thermal decomposition of diaryl alkanes such as dibenzyl and 1,3-diphenyl propane has been studied by Sato and coworkers (13), Collins and coworkers (14). These compounds were confirmed to be decomposed to alkyl benzenes gradually as a function of carbon chain length. 

Phenolic compounds were confirmed to be very stable against thermal treatment. Diphenyl methanol and benzophenone were stable against decomposition but hydrogenated to form diphenyl -methane quantitatively. Phenyl benzyl ketone was found to be partially hydrogenated or decarbonylated to form diphenyl alkanes. 

E. L. Shock (1990) provides a different interpretation of these results he criticizes that the redox state of the reaction mixture was not checked in the Miller/Bada experiments. Shock also states that simple thermodynamic calculations show that the Miller/Bada theory does not stand up. To use terms like instability and decomposition is not correct when chemical compounds (here amino acids) are present in aqueous solution under extreme conditions and are aiming at a metastable equilibrium. Shock considers that oxidized and metastable carbon and nitrogen compounds are of greater importance in hydrothermal systems than are reduced compounds. In the interior of the Earth, CO2 and N2 are in stable redox equilibrium with substances such as amino acids and carboxylic acids, while reduced compounds such as CH4 and NH3 are not. The explanation lies in the oxidation state of the lithosphere. Shock considers the two mineral systems FMQ and PPM discussed above as particularly important for the system seawater/basalt rock. The FMQ system acts as a buffer in the oceanic crust. At depths of around 1.3 km, the PPM system probably becomes active, i.e., N2 and CO2 are the dominant species in stable equilibrium conditions at temperatures above 548 K. When the temperature of hydrothermal solutions falls (below about 548 K), they probably pass through a stability field in which CH4 and NII3 predominate. If kinetic factors block the achievement of equilibrium, metastable compounds such as alkanes, carboxylic acids, alkyl benzenes and amino acids are formed between 423 and 293 K. 

Gallicchio, E. Kubo, M. M. Levy, R. M., Enthalpy-entropy and cavity decomposition of alkane hydration free energies numerical results and implications for theories of hydrophobic solvation, J. Phys. Chem. B 2000,104, 6271-6285... 

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