Ethyl halides pyrolysis

Koplitz and co-workers have studied the photolysis of C2H5 via the A2A (3s) state by using 248-nm photolysis radiation and hot ethyl radicals generated from photolysis of ethyl halides.125,126 Chen and co-workers have investigated the photodissociation of jet-cooled ethyl (produced by flash pyrolysis of ethyl iodide and n-propylnitrite) in the region of 245-264 nm... 

Ethane occurs in natural gas, from which it is isolated. Ethane is among the chemically less reactive organic substances. However, ethane reacts with chlorine and bromine to form substitution compounds. Ethyl iodide, bromide, or chlorides are preferably made by reaction with ethyl alcohol and the appropriate phosphorus halide. Important ethane derivatives, by successive oxidation, are ethyl alcohol, acetaldehyde, and acetic acid. Ethane can also be used for the production of aromatics by pyrolysis (Fig. 1). 

The lactonization of y-bromoesters, which involves neighboring group participation and an ionic intermediate in solution, was not observed in the gas phase. Kwart and Waroblak13 reported that only HBr gas was produced from ethyl y-bromobutyrate pyrolysis at 450 °C. Consequently, they doubted the heterolytic nature via an ion-pair intermediate of alkyl halides pyrolyses. 

This study on the kinetic chlorine isotope effect in ethyl chloride50 was extended to secondary and tertiary alkyl halides pyrolyses51. The isotope effects on isopropyl chloride and terf-butyl chloride pyrolysis were found to be primary and exhibited a definite dependence on temperature. They increased with increasing methyl substitution on the central carbon atom. The pyrolysis results and model calculations implied that all alkyl chlorides involve the same type of activated complex. The C—Cl bond is not completely broken in the activated complex, yet the chlorine participation involves a combination of bending and stretching modes. 

Another complication with gas phase pyrolyses is that many possible nonconcerted reaction pathways are possible. Alkyl halides xmdergo elimination in the gas phase, and some compounds, such as ethyl chloride, appear to undergo unimolecular elimination. Their unimolecular decompositions may involve transition structures with significant carbocation character. For example, p5u-olysis of (-l- )-2-chlorooctane in the gas phase at 325-385°C was found to produce racemization of the starting material as well as elimination of HCl. Some compounds appear to react by radical chain mechanisms, and heterogeneous radical reactions often complicate studies that are not carried out in "well-seasoned" (i.e., coated with a layer of organic material) vessels. Furthermore, there appears to be a significant radical (but not radical chain) component to the pyrolysis of sulfoxides. These complications mean that many control studies are necessary to clarify the mechanism of gas phase elimination reactions. 

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