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Oxidation of Gaseous Formaldehyde

Abstract

IN their investigation of the oxidation of gaseous formaldehyde at 337° C, Axford and Norrish1 found that the reaction, which started immediately, was accompanied by a pressure increase. The rate of pressure rise gradually diminished as the reactants became consumed. The major overall reactions were considered on the basis of product analysis to be: with the former predominating. The propagation steps, as suggested then and modified later by McKellar and Norrish2, were: which together are equivalent to reaction (1). To explain the production of carbon dioxide the following step was postulated:

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References

  1. Axford, D. W. E., and Norrish, R. G. W., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 192, 518 (1948).

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  2. McKellar, J. F., and Norrish, R. G. W., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 254, 147 (1960).

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  3. Scheer, M. D., Fifth Symposium on Combustion, 435 (Reinhold, New York, 1955).

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NORRISH, R., THOMAS, J. Oxidation of Gaseous Formaldehyde. Nature 210, 728–729 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/210728a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/210728a0

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