OXIDATION OF PROPYLENE BY PHOTOLYSIS IN PRESENCE OF NO2

Mixtures of propylene and NO: were photolyzed at 3660 Å, and quantum yields of NO2 consumption were determined as a function of propylene pressure, NO2 pressure, total pressure (using N2), and temperature. The quantum yields increased as a function of (C3H 6) and approached a value of about 6. The rates of production of the principal products of the reaction were measured, and a mechanism is presented to explain the quantum yield behavior and the products found. The essential features of the mechanism are that O atoms produced by the photolysis of NO: add to propylene, producing intermediates that are either stabilized by collisions or dissociate into free radicals. Nitrogen dioxide reacts rapidly with the free radicals producing stable products.