The Mechanism of the Photooxidation of Acetaldehyde at Room Temperature

The initial rates of product formation in the photooxidation of acetaldehyde at room temperature have been determined through the use of infrared spectrometry. The rates of formation of the products peroxyacetic acid, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methanol, formic acid, and acetic acid were determined in experiments with various pressures of acetaldehyde, oxygen, and added gases. The amounts of methylhydroperoxide and acetylperoxide formed in all of the experiments were below the detection limit of the analytical methods. The results require that some modification and corrections be made to the mechanism suggested by McDowell and Sharples.