Product formation, in particular ketohydroperoxide formation and decomposition, were investigated in time-resolved, Cl-atom initiated neopentane oxidation experiments in the temperature range 550-675 K using a photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Ionization light was provided either by Advanced Light Source tunable synchrotron radiation or ∼10.2 eV fixed energy radiation from a H2-discharge lamp. Experiments were performed both at 1-2 atm pressure using a high-pressure reactor and also at ∼9 Torr pressure employing a low-pressure reactor for comparison. Because of the highly symmetric structure of neopentane, ketohydroperoxide signal can be attributed to a 3-hydroperoxy-2,2-dimethylpropanal isomer, i.e. from a γ-ketohydroperoxide (γ-KHP). The photoionization spectra of the γ-KHP measured at low- and high pressures and varying oxygen concentrations agree well with each other, further supporting they originate from the single isomer. Measurements performed in this work also suggest that the "Korcek" mechanism may play an important role in the decomposition of 3-hydroperoxy-2,2-dimethylpropanal, especially at lower temperatures. However, at higher temperatures where γ-KHP decomposition to hydroxyl radical and oxy-radical dominates, oxidation of the oxy-radical yields a new important channel leading to acetone, carbon monoxide, and OH radical. Starting from the initial neopentyl + O2 reaction, this channel releases altogether three OH radicals. A strongly temperature-dependent reaction product is observed at m/z = 100, likely attributable to 2,2-dimethylpropanedial.
In this paper we report the detection and identification of the keto-hydroperoxide (hydroperoxymethyl formate, HPMF, HOOCH2OCHO) and other partially oxidized intermediate species arising from the low-temperature (540 K) oxidation of dimethyl ether (DME). These observations were made possible by coupling a jet-stirred reactor with molecular-beam sampling capabilities, operated near atmospheric pressure, to a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer that employs single-photon ionization via tunable synchrotron-generated vacuum-ultraviolet radiation. On the basis of experimentally observed ionization thresholds and fragmentation appearance energies, interpreted with the aid of ab initio calculations, we have identified HPMF and its conceivable decomposition products HC(O)O(O)CH (formic acid anhydride), HC(O)OOH (performic acid), and HOC(O)OH (carbonic acid). Other intermediates that were detected and identified include HC(O)OCH3 (methyl formate), cycl-CH2-O-CH2-O- (1,3-dioxetane), CH3OOH (methyl hydroperoxide), HC(O)OH (formic acid), and H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). We show that the theoretical characterization of multiple conformeric structures of some intermediates is required when interpreting the experimentally observed ionization thresholds, and a simple method is presented for estimating the importance of multiple conformers at the estimated temperature (∼100 K) of the present molecular beam. We also discuss possible formation pathways of the detected species: for example, supported by potential energy surface calculations, we show that performic acid may be a minor channel of the O2 + CH2OCH2OOH reaction, resulting from the decomposition of the HOOCH2OCHOOH intermediate, which predominantly leads to the HPMF.
Oxidation of organic compounds in combustion and in Earth's troposphere is mediated by reactive species formed by the addition of molecular oxygen (O2) to organic radicals. Among the most crucial and elusive of these intermediates are hydroperoxyalkyl radicals, often denoted "QOOH." These species and their reactions with O2 are responsible for the radical chain branching that sustains autoignition and are implicated in tropospheric autoxidation that can form low-volatility, highly oxygenated organic aerosol precursors. We report direct observation and kinetics measurements of a QOOH intermediate in the oxidation of 1,3-cycloheptadiene, a molecule that offers insight into both resonance-stabilized and nonstabilized radical intermediates. The results establish that resonance stabilization dramatically changes QOOH reactivity and, hence, that oxidation of unsaturated organics can produce exceptionally long-lived QOOH intermediates.