Directly measuring reaction kinetics of ˙QOOH – a crucial but elusive intermediate in hydrocarbon autoignition

Abstract

Hydrocarbon autoignition has long been an area of intense fundamental chemical interest, and is a key technological process for emerging clean and efficient combustion strategies. Carbon-centered radicals containing an –OOH group, commonly denoted ˙QOOH radicals, are produced by isomerization of the alkylperoxy radicals that are formed in the first stages of oxidation. These ˙QOOH radicals are among the most critical species for modeling autoignition, as their reactions with O₂ are responsible for chain branching below 1000 K. Despite their importance, no ˙QOOH radicals have ever been observed by any means, and only computational and indirect experimental evidence has been available on their reactivity. Here, we directly produce a ˙QOOH radical, 2-hydroperoxy-2-methylprop-1-yl, and experimentally determine rate coefficients for its unimolecular decomposition and its association reaction with O₂. The results are supported by high-level theoretical kinetics calculations. Our experimental strategy opens up a new avenue to study the chemistry of ˙QOOH radicals in isolation.