Reactions of methylene with ethers. Part 2.—With ethyl methyl ether

Abstract

Singlet methylene reacts with methyl ethyl ether in the gas phase to yield methyl n-propyl ether, methyl isopropyl ether and diethyl ether as the major products. The relative yields † of these ethers indicate a nearly random insertion in the various carbon-hydrogen bonds. Triplet methylene reacts, under the same conditions, to give methyl isopropyl ether and diethyl ether but no methyl n-propyl ether. This difference in the reaction products of the two states of methylene has been used to estimate the ratio of singlet to triplet species reacting with the ethyl methyl ether. The effect of inert gases, of changing the methylene precursor, wavelength of the photolytic radiation, and pressure on this ratio have been studied.