The Photolysis of Mercury Dimethyl in the Presence of Hydrocarbons

Abstract

Mercury dimethyl was photolyzed in the presence of various hydrocarbons between 28°C and 251°C. The activation energies in kcal per mole for reactions of the type $${\mathrm{CH}}_3+\mathrm{RH}\to {\mathrm{CH}}_4+\mathrm{R}$$ are: 2‐methyl propane−7.4; 2,3‐dimethyl butane−6.8; n‐butane−8.6; cylcohexane−8.3; 2,2‐dimethyl propane−10.4; and toluene−7.3, where it is assumed that the activation energy for the reaction $$2{\mathrm{CH}}_3\to {\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_6$$ is zero. The collision theory steric factors are less than 10⁻³ for all these reactions. The agreement of the above results with those obtained from the photolysis of acetone is noted.