Recombination and dissociation of 2-methyl allyl radicals: Experiment and theory

Abstract The recombination and dissociation of the resonantly stabilized 2-methylallyl radical has been studied in a diaphragmless shock tube by laser schlieren densitometry (LS) over temperatures of 700–1350 K and pressures of 60–260 Torr. Both 2,5-dimethyl-1,5-hexadiene and the new low temperature precursor 3-methylbut-3-enyl nitrite were used to generate 2-methylallyl radicals under these conditions. Rate coefficients were obtained for dissociation of the precursors, recombination of 2-methylallyl, and dissociation of 2-methylallyl by simulation of the LS profiles. The experiments are complemented by a priori theoretical calculations for both the recombination and dissociation of 2-methylallyl. The experimental results and theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with one another. The calculated high pressure limit rate coefficient for recombination of 2-methylallyl is log( k 1 ) = 14.737−0.641log T +251.39/(2.303× T ) and that for dissociation of 2-methylallyl is log( k 3 ) = 11.100−1.2295logT−28545/(2.303× T ). The uncertainties in k 1 and k 3 are estimated as factors of 1.5. Rate coefficients are provided over a broad range of pressures for chemical kinetic modeling.