ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY OF HFC-134A - KINETICS OF THE DECOMPOSITION OF THE ALKOXY RADICAL CF3CFHO

Decomposition of the CF3CFHO radical formed in the reaction of CF3CFHO 2 radicals with NO was studied at 296 and 393 K using a pulse radiolys is transient VIS-UV absorption absolute rate technique. At room temper ature in 1 atmosphere of SF6 diluent it was found that the majority (7 9 +/- 20)% of CF3CFHO radicals formed in the CF3CFHO2 + NO reaction de compose within 3 mu s via C-C bond scission. This result is discussed with respect to the current understanding of the atmospheric degradati on of HFC-134a. As a part of the present work the rate constant ratio k(CF3CFH+02)/k(CF3CFH+NO) was determined to be 0.144 +/- 0.029 in one atmosphere of SF6 diluent at 296 K. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.