Pyrolysis of Methyl Formate and the Reaction of Methyl Formate with H Atoms: Shock Tube Experiments and Statistical Rate Theory.

Methyl formate (MF) is the smallest carboxylic ester and currently considered a promising alternative fuel. It can also serve as a model compound to study the combustion chemistry of the ester group, which is a typical structural feature in many biodiesel components. In the present work, the pyrolysis of MF was investigated behind reflected shock waves at temperatures between 1430 and 2070 K at a nominal pressure of 1.

The unimolecular decomposition of dimethoxymethane: channel switching as a function of temperature and pressure.

Branching ratios of competing unimolecular reactions often exhibit a complicated temperature and pressure dependence that makes modelling of complex reaction systems in the gas phase difficult. In particular, the competition between steps proceeding tight and loose transition states is known to present a problem. A recent example from the field of combustion chemistry is the unimolecular decomposition of CHOCHOCH (DMM), which is discussed as an alternative fuel accessible from sustainable sources.