Abstract
There is a growing interest in alkylfurans as potential biofuels. Recent work has highlighted the need for further study of the atmospheric oxidation mechanism of 2-methylfuran (2MF). This study utilizes the high level composite computational methods, G4 and CBS-QB3, to determine the bond dissociation energies for the C-H bond in 2MF and the reaction enthalpies and barrier heights of several of the known possible initiation reaction pathways. This study also investigates the possible subsequent low temperature reaction pathways following the addition of OH and then O2 onto the 2MF ring. The placement of the OH and O2 on the ring, either cis or trans to each other, dictates the viability of subsequent reactions. Of particular interest is the observation that 1,4 H-migrations that abstract the hydrogen bound to the same carbon as the OH have abnormally low barrier height. This dramatic decrease puts the reaction barrier lower than concerted eliminations and 6-membered ring Waddington-type reactions. In addition, a novel reaction type, described as a Waddington concerted elimination, is reported herein. This reaction, when viable, is generally more favorable than other reactions. The results presented here are of interest to combustion modelers and atmospheric chemists, particularly those working on aromatic hydrocarbons and systems with conjugated double bonds. © 2013 American Chemical Society.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 7670-7685 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | The Journal of Physical Chemistry A |
Volume | 117 |
Issue number | 33 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2 2013 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledgements: This work was funded by the Clean Combustion Research Center at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. We are thankful for scientific discussions with members of the Tailor Made Fuels from Biomass (TMFB) Cluster of Excellence at RWTH Aachen University, including Kai Leonard, Wassja Kopp, Ravi Fernandes, and Harish Chakravarty. S.M.S. acknowledges funding from the TMFB Visiting Fellowship program.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry