Chain photochlorination studies

A different experimental approach to the study of chlorine atom reactions with olefins will be mentioned briefly. Wijnen(l06) has studied the photolysis of phosgene as a source of chlorine atoms in the presence of ethylene, and Guercione and Wijnen (49) have carried out similar experiments with propylene. The features of these processes are quite different from those encountered in photochlorination in the presence of molecular chlorine, since the chain propagating reaction (3) cannot occur. Although in the photolysis of phosgene Cl and COC1 are initially formed, it appears that all COC1 radicals further decompose into CO and Cl. 

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