Reaction kinetics of 1,4-cyclohexadienes with OH radicals: an experimental and theoretical study.

This work presents the OH-initiated oxidation kinetics of 1,4-cyclochexadiene (1,4-CHD). The temperature dependence of the reaction was investigated by utilizing a laser flash photolysis flow reactor and laser-induced fluorescence (LPFR/LIF) technique over the temperature range of 295-438 K and a pressure of ∼50 torr. The kinetics of the reaction was followed by measuring the LIF signal of OH radicals near 308 nm. The reaction of OH radicals with 1,4-CHD exhibited a clear negative temperature dependence. To discern the role of various channels, ab initio and RRKM-based ME calculations (RRKM-ME) were performed over temperatures of 200-2000 K and pressures of 0.76-7600 torr. The computed energy profile revealed that the reaction proceeds via the formation of a pre-reaction van der Waals complex at the entrance channel. The complex was found to be more stable than that usually seen in other alkenes + OH reactions. Both the addition channel and the abstraction reaction of allylic hydrogen were found to have negative energy barriers. Interestingly, the abstraction reaction exhibited a negative temperature dependence at low temperatures and contributed significantly (∼37%) to the total rate coefficients even under atmospheric conditions. At T ≥ 900 K, the reaction was found to proceed exclusively (>95%) via the abstraction channel. Due to the competing channels, the reaction of OH radicals with 1,4-CHD displays complicated kinetic behaviours, reflecting the salient features of the energy profile. The role of competing channels was fully characterized by our kinetic model. The calculated rate coefficients showed excellent agreement with the available experimental data.