DEGRADATION OF ALTERNATIVE HALOCARBONS - DECOMPOSITION PATHWAYS OF TRIFLUOROETHOXY RADICALS

The decomposition pathways of 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy radicals, CF3CXYO (where X, Y = H, F or Cl) are studied using ab initio molecular orbital theory. The ab initio calculations suggest that chlorine atom elimination reactions from CF3CXYO are low activation barrier processes. When CF3CXYO contains no chlorine, carbon-carbon bond breaking processes dominate over fluorine atom or hydrogen atom dissociation processes. The atmospheric implications of these calculations are discussed.