Tracer studies of the reactions of singlet and triplet methylene in the gas phase

Abstract

The reactions of singlet and triplet methylene have been studied with ¹⁴C and tritium tracers. Triplet methylene is intercepted by O₂, and oxidized to CO or CO₂. In the absence of O₂, triplet methylene reacts with 2-butene, and the excited biradical can decompose to methyl plus butenyl. In saturated systems, triplet methylene is very long-lived and undergoes radical-radical reactions. Singlet methylene reacts with ethylene while still vibrationally excited. Singlet ¹⁴CH₂ can undergo isotopic exchange with CO to form ¹⁴CO; ¹(¹⁴CH₂) can also react by abstraction of Cl or Br from methyl halide.