The pyrolysis of vinyl benzoate

Steedman, William (1960) The pyrolysis of vinyl benzoate. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This work describes a study which has been made of some of the physical aspects of the vapour-phase pyrolysis of the high-boiling ester, vinyl benzoate, the project being part of a wider study of the pyrolysis of ''Terylene" which has been pursued in these laboratories. The major part of the work involves a technique which is described whereby the rate of degradation of the involatile ester is followed empirically by measuring the rate of gas evolution from a system containing the vapourised ester together with a quantity of liquid reflux. Analysis of the pyrolysate gases is also applied to track the reaction. The primary findings of the study are the following; the complex degradation reaction is found to be mainly homogeneous; evidence for the absence of free-radical chain reactions is presented, and three individual primary decomposition routes are concluded to proceed by molecular mechanisms; catalytic effects in the presence of carbonaceous deposits, benzoic acid, and iodine are recorded. A short parallel study of the pyrolysis of vinyl acetate is also reported. The reaction is concluded to be homogeneous, and involving no free-radical chain processes.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: P D Ritchie
• Keywords: Physical chemistry
• Date of Award: 1960
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1960-73517
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• Last Modified: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/73517