Rate constant for the reaction of atomic chlorine with acetaldehyde from 210 to 343 K

The absolute rate constant for the reaction of atomic chlorine with acetaldehyde has been measured from 210 to 343 K by use of the flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence technique. The rate constant is shown to be independent of variations in (CH{sub 3}CHO), total pressure (Ar), and, to a lesser extent, flash intensity (initial (Cl)). The rate constant is also independent of temperature over the range studied. The average of all experiments yields k{sub 1} = (6.6 {plus minus} 1.4) {times} 10{sup {minus}11} cm{sup 3} molecule{sup {minus}1} s{sup {minus}1}, where the error limit is two standard deviations. This result is compared with previous measurements of k{sub 1}, all of which were relative measurements at 298 K.