Photolysis of carbon tetrachloride in the presence of alkanes

The photolysis of carbon tetrachloride in the presence of a number of alkanes has been investigated in the gas phase. The products obtained from the photolysis experiments were those expected from a chain reaction in which trichloromethyl radicals abstract hydrogen atoms from the alkane. The data have been used to determine Arrhenius parameters for hydrogen abstraction from the series of alkanes CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , C 3 H 8 , and i ‐C 4 H 10 by trichloromethyl radicals, magnified image The rate data obtained are used to explain why termination reactions involving alkyl radicals become less significant as the alkane becomes more complex.