High Temperature Thermal Decomposition of Carbonyl Fluoride

Abstract The thermal decomposition of carbonyl fluorine (COF2) in excess argon, , was studied behind both incident and reflected shock waves. Kinetic data were obtained in the temperature and total piessure ranges 2600-3600°K and 0.5 to 12 atmospheres respectively. The reaction was found to be unimolecular in nature, and the variation of the observed rate constant with temperature and total pressure was analyzed with the aid of both the Lindemann and the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel unimolecular theories of reaction rates. The experimentally determined activation energy for the high pressure limiting rate constant is shown to be slightly in excess of the first bond dissociation energy of COF2, and the Lindemann theory is shown to best fit the experimental data. The results of previous investigators are compared to the findings reported here, and the sensitivity of the reaction rate to trace water vapor impurities is discussed.