Mechanistic Insights into Oxidative Decomposition of exo-Tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene

We investigated the decomposition of exo -tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene ( exo -THDCP, C 10 H 16 ) in the absence and presence of O 2 at various temperatures. It was found that conversion of exo -THDCP was faster in the presence of O 2 as compared to in its absence. The O 2 -induced increase in the conversion of exo -THDCP was hardly affected by variations in temperature. In addition, the O 2 -induced increase in the rate of C 10 product formation was higher than those of C 10 . We proposed the mechanism for the oxidative decomposition of exo -THDCP, which occurs independently of its thermal decomposition and induces distinct product formation near and below its thermal decomposition starting temperature.