FORMATION YIELDS OF EPOXIDES AND O(P(3)) ATOMS FROM THE GAS-PHASE REACTIONS OF O(3) WITH A SERIES OF ALKENES

Reactions of ozone with propene, 1-butene, cis-2-butene, trans-2-butene, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, and 1,3-butadiene were carried out in N2 and air diluent at atmospheric pressure and room temperature and, by monitoring the formation of the epoxides and/or a carbonyl compound formed from the reactions of O(3P) atoms with these alkenes, the formation yields of O(3P) atoms from the O3 reactions were investigated. No evidence for O(3P) atom formation was obtained, and upper limits to O(3P) atom formation yields of <4% for propene, <5% for 1,3-butadiene, and <2% for the other four alkenes were derived. The reaction of O3 with 1,3-butadiene led to the direct formation of 3,4-epoxy-1-butene in (2.3 +/- 0.4)% yield. These data are in agreement with the majority of the literature data and show that O(3P) atom formation is not a significant pathway in O3-alkene reactions, and that epoxide formation only occurs to any significant extent from conjugated dienes. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.