Kinetics of the reactions of hydroxyl radicals with aliphatic ethers studied under simulated atmospheric conditions

Rate coefficients have been measured for the reactions of hydroxyl radicals with a range of aliphatic ethers by a competitive technique. Mixtures of synthetic air containing a few ppm of nitrous acid, isobutene and an ether were photolyzed in a Teflon-bag smog chamber. From the rates of depletion of the ether and of the isobutene, and based on the value of the rate coefficient k(OH+i-C₄H₈)=5.26×10^-11 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1, the following rate coefficients were obtained for the hydroxyl radical reactions at 750 Torr and at 294±2K in units of 10^-12 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1: diethylether = 12.0±1.1, di-n-propylether = 15.3±1.6, di-n-butylether=17.1±0.9, ethyl n-butylether = 13.5±0.4, ethyl t-butyl-ether = 5.6±0.5, and di-isobutylether = 26.1±1.6. The quoted error limits correspond to 2 standard deviations but do not include any contribution from k(OH+i-C₄H₈) for which the error limits are estimated to be about ±10%. The results are discussed in relation to the available literature data and considered in terms of the structure-activity relation for hydroxyl radical reactions with organic molecules.