Experimental observation of molecular-weight growth by the reactions of -benzyne with benzyl radicals.

The chemistry of -benzyne (-CH) is of fundamental importance due to its role as an essential molecular building block in molecular-weight growth reactions. Here, we report on an experimental investigation of the reaction of -CH with benzyl (CH) radicals in a well-controlled flash pyrolysis experiment using a resistively heated SiC microtubular reactor at temperatures of 800-1600 K and pressures near 30  torr. To this end, the reactants -CH and CH were pyrolytically generated from 1,2-diiodobenzene and benzyl bromide, respectively.