Kinetic studies of Cl‐atom reactions with selected aromatic compounds using the photochemical reactor‐FTIR spectroscopy technique

Relative rate constant measurements have been carried out on the Cl‐atom reactions with benzene, chlorobenzene, toluene, xylene, and styrene in 740 torr of air at room temperature (295 K), using the photochemical reactor‐FTIR spectroscopy technique. The Cl atoms were generated by the UV photolysis of Cl 2 , and the reference compounds were CHF, Cl for benzene and chlorobenzene and isobutane for toluene xylene and styrene. Using the absolute rate constant for these two reference compounds reported in the literature, the following kinetic data were obtained for the study compounds (in units of cm 3 s −1 ). \settabs 2 \columns \+Benzene& $(1.3\pm 0.3)\times 10 ^ {‐15}$\cr \+Chlorobenzen & $(9.8\pm 2.4)\times 10 ^ {‐16}$\cr \+Toluene& $(5.9\pm 0.5)\times 10 ^ {‐11}$\cr \+o‐Xylene& $(1.5\pm 0.1)\times 10 ^ {‐10}$\cr \+m‐Xylene& $(1.4\pm 0.1)\times 10 ^ {‐10}$\cr \+p‐Xylene& $(1.5\pm 0.1)\times 10 ^ {‐10}$\cr \+Styrene& $(3.6\pm 0.3)\times 10 ^ {‐10}$\cr The quoted error bars are for ± 2σ. The present kinetic results are compared with available literature data to update and expand the kinetics database for Cl‐atom reactions of organic compounds. The results are also analyzed to provide insights into the reaction mechanism for the Cl‐atom initiated oxidation of benzene under atmospheric conditions. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 29: 349–358, 1997