Mass-Spectrometric Investigation of the Reaction of Hydrogen with Graphite at 1900°–2400°K

Abstract

An integral furnacemass spectrometer was used to directly observe the products of the reaction of hydrogen with graphite between 1880° and 2430°K at pressures up to 0.5 torr and with 80‐msec contact times. Ions observed to m / e 140 indicate formation of an extensive high‐molecular‐weight hydrocarbon system consisting mainly of unsaturated, acyclic, nonaromatic compounds. Many of these compounds were formed in steady‐state concentrations much greater than expected for equilibrium. A reaction mechanism involving addition and insertion reactions is discussed.