Experimental Kinetics Study of the Reaction of Boron Atoms, B(2PJ), with Ethylene at Very Low Temperatures (23−295 K)

Abstract

The kinetics of the reaction B(2PJ) + C2H4 has been investigated between 23 and 295 K in a continuous flow CRESU (cinétique de réaction en écoulement supersonique uniforme) apparatus using pulsed laser photolysis of trimethyl borate, B(OCH3)3, to generate B(2PJ) atoms and laser-induced fluorescence to observe the kinetic decay of the boron atoms and hence determine the rate coefficients. The thermal rate constant temperature dependency is well described by the following expression: k(T) = (1.86 ± 0.40) × 10-10 (T/300)-(0.70±0.30) × exp(−(26 ± 14)/T) cm3 molecule-1 s-1 indicating the absence of any significant activation barrier in the entrance channel of the potential energy surface of the title reaction.