The formation of alkanes in the pyrolysis of n-hexadecane: effect of an inert gas on the decomposition of alkyl radicals

Abstract

The rate of formation of alkanes in the pyrolysis of n-hexadecane is shown to be drastically reduced in the presence of an inert gas.The experimental results are in good quantitative agreement with the predictions of a theoretical model, which assumes that the decomposition of alkyl radicals is not monomolecular, because the Maxwell–Boltzmann activation process would be perturbed by a bimolecular reaction having a lower activation energy.