Relative rate study of the kinetics, mechanism, and thermodynamics of the reaction of chlorine atoms with CF3CF═CH2 (HFO-1234yf) in 650-950 Torr of N2 or N2/O2 diluent at 296-462 K.

The rate constant of the reaction Cl + CF(3)CF═CH(2) (k(1)) has been measured relative to several reference species using the relative rate technique with either gas chromatographic analysis with flame-ionization detection (GC/FID) or Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. Cl atoms were generated by UV irradiation of Cl(2)/CF(3)CF═CH(2)/reference/N(2)/O(2) mixtures. At 300-400 K in the presence of >20 Torr O(2), k(1) = 1.2 × 10(-11) e((+1100/RT)) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). In N(2) diluent, k(1) has a sharp negative temperature coefficient resulting from the relatively small exothermicity of the following reactions: (1a) Cl + CF(3)CF═CH(2) ↔ CF(3)CFClCH(2)(•); (1b) Cl + CF(3)CF═CH(2) ↔ CF(3)CF(•)CH(2)Cl (reaction 1), which were determined in these experiments to be ∼16.5 (±2.0) kcal mol(-1). This low exothermicity causes reaction 1 to become significantly reversible even at ambient temperature. The rate constant ratio for the reaction of the chloroalkyl radicals formed in reaction 1 with Cl(2) (k(2)) or O(2) (k(3)) was measured to be k(2)/k(3) = 0.4 e(-(3000/RT)) for 300-400 K. At 300 K, k(2)/k(3) = 0.0026. The reversibility of reaction 1 combined with the small value of k(2)/k(3) leads to a sensitive dependence of k(1) on the O(2) concentration. Products measured by GC/FID as a function of temperature are CF(3)CFClCH(2)Cl, CF(3)COF, and CH(2)Cl(2). The mechanism leading to these products is discussed. The rate constant for the reaction Cl + CF(3)CFClCH(2)Cl (k(11)) was measured as a function of temperature (300-462 K) at 760 Torr to be k(11) = 8.2 × 10(-12) e(-(4065/RT)) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). Rate constants relative to CH(4) for the reactions of Cl with the reference compounds CH(3)Cl, CH(2)Cl(2), and CHCl(3) were measured at 470 K to resolve a literature discrepancy. (R = 1.986 cal K(-1) mol(-1)).