The Kinetics of the Pyrolysis of Toluene

The pyrolysis of toluene has been studied in an attempt to verify the findings of Szwarc (2). The major products have been confirmed but styrene and isomeric dimethyl diphenyls have also been detected. First order rate constants for the decomposition have been found to depend on the condition of the surface of the reactor, the contact time, and, to a lesser degree, on the pressure. Some preliminary studies on the mechanism of the formation of the dimethyl diphenyls are also recorded.