Detailed kinetics of cyclopentadiene decomposition studied in a shock tube

Mixtures of cyclopentadiene diluted with argon were used to investigate its decomposition pattern in a single pulse shock tube. The temperatures ranged from 1080 to 1550 K and pressures behind the shock were between 1.7–9.6 atm. The cyclopentadiene concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 2%. Gas-chromatographic analysis was used to determine the product distribution. The main products in order of abundance were acetylene, ethylene, methane, allene, propyne, butadiene, propylene, and benzene. The decomposition of cyclopentadiene was simulated with a kinetic scheme containing 44 species and 144 elementary reactions. This was later reduced to only 36 reactions. The ring opening process of the cyclopentadienyl radical was found to be the crucial step in the mechanism.