Studies on the Decomposition of Azomethane II. Pure Azomethane and Azomethane in the Presence of Helium

In §§1–5 data on the decomposition of azomethane are presented and compared with those obtained by Ramsperger, with which they do not entirely agree. In §6 the possible effect of self-heating of the reacting gas is considered. In §7 some modifications in the theory of unimolecular reactions, called for if only partial deactivation occurs at collision, are discussed and found not to be of importance. The theory is applied to the present data and the pressure dependence of the rate seems to fit the theory better than was the case with Ramsperger's data. In §8 the effect of helium is discussed. It activates azomethane, being 0.120 as effective as azomethane itself. In §9 the possibility of the azomethane decomposition being a chain reaction is considered. It is concluded that if it is a chain reaction the chain is very short and its length is independent of temperature and pressure over the range studied in this research.