The Reaction of Alcohols and Hydrocarbons in a Silent Electric Discharge. I. The Decomposition of 2-Propanol by the Discharge

Abstract

Abstract The reaction of 2-propanol under a silent electric discharge was studied using two kinds of discharge tubes. One was Siemen’s tube, which was used for investigating a silent discharge decomposition of 2-propanol. The other was a special tube that had one side of the walls made of copper or its salts; it was used for studying the effects of the wall on the decomposition. The main liquid products were acetaldehyde, acetone, dl-2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and hydrocarbons. The gaseous products were methane, C2–C4-hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. These components were obtained in every run, regardless of the type of tube used. However, the distribution of the products varied with the sort of tube. The formation of 2-methyl-2-butanol can be explained by the addition of a 1-hydroxyisopropyl radical with the ethylene produced; the only product formed by adding this radical to ethylene was the one-to-one adduct. By replacing one side of the glassy walls with a wall of a glass-filter-packed copper or its salts, the yield of 2-methyl-2-propanol was increased relatively, and those of 2-methyl-2-butanol and dl-2-pentanol were decreased.