KINETICS OF THE REACTION OF OH RADICALS WITH CH2CO

The kinetics of the homogeneous gas phase reaction OH + CH2CO --> products (1) has been investigated at room temperature and pressures between 1.4 mbar less-than-or-equal-to p less-than-or-equal-to 2.5 mbar using the discharge flow method. Reactors with Teflon wall coatings and with different surface-to-volume ratios were employed to exclude effects of heterogeneous reactions. OH radicals were generated via the reaction F + H2O. Their concentration-versus-time decay profiles were followed under pseudo-first-order conditions, [CH2CO] >> [OH]0, with a Far Infrared Laser Magnetic Resonance (FIR-LMR) spectrometer. The rate constant of the title reaction was found to be k1 (296 K) = (7.2 +/- 2.0).10(12) cm3/mol.s.