Abstract
THE course of the thermal breakdown of the nitrocellulose molecule is not well understood. Previous studies of the chemical kinetics of the reaction have been carried out on the solid, and so have been hampered by the need to pyrolyse at low temperatures to reduce self-heating; and it is not certain how far the kinetics of gas evolution are complicated by reactions of the primary products, which probably include nitrogen peroxide. Further, the value of 46.7 kcal./mole recently found for the activation energy of the primary step by Wilfong, Penner and Daniells1 is difficult to understand in the light of Phillips's demonstration2 that the typical value for organic nitrates is 36–40 kcal.
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References
Wilfong, R. E., Penner, S. S., and Daniells, F., J. Phys. Coll. Chem., 54, 863 (1950).
Phillips, L., Nature, 160, 753 (1947).
Robertson, A. J. B., J. Soc. Chem. Indust., 67, 221 (1948).
Robertson, A. J. B., Trans. Farad. Soc., 45, 85 (1949).
Desmaroux, J., Mem. des Poudres, 29, 189 (1939).
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SMITH, R. Pyrolysis of Dissolved Nitrocellulose. Nature 170, 844–845 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/170844a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/170844a0
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