Flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) is a technique in organic synthesis. It entails heating a precursor molecule intensely and briefly. Two key parameters are the temperature and duration (or residence time), which are adjusted to optimize yield, conversion, and avoidance of intractable products. [1] Often the experiment entails volatilizing a precursor, which is drawn through a "hot zone" followed by rapid condensation. The apparatus typically is conducted under dynamic vacuum. The hot zone must impart heat to the gaseous molecules, so it is generally packed with solids to induce gas-solid collisions. The packing material is generally chemically inert, such as quartz. [2] The precursor (i) volatilizes with gentle heating and under vacuum, (ii) the precursor fragments or rearranges in the hot zone, and finally (iii) the products are collected by rapid cooling. Rapid post-reaction cooling and the dilution inherent in gases both suppress bimolecular degradation pathways.
The technique is applied to conversions that proceed via unimolecular pathways. 2-Acetoxydioxane, when heated at 425 °C converts to the highly reactive dioxene, via loss of acetic acid. [3] 2-Furonitrile has been prepared by flash-dehydration of 2-furoic acid amide or oxime over molecular sieves. [4] The strained ring benzocyclobutenone has been prepared by FVP from a simple benzoyl chloride precursor. [5]
Mesitylene or 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene is a derivative of benzene with three methyl substituents positioned symmetrically around the ring. The other two isomeric trimethylbenzenes are 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (pseudocumene) and 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene (hemimellitene). All three compounds have the formula C6H3(CH3)3, which is commonly abbreviated C6H3Me3. Mesitylene is a colorless liquid with sweet aromatic odor. It is a component of coal tar, which is its traditional source. It is a precursor to diverse fine chemicals. The mesityl group (Mes) is a substituent with the formula C6H2Me3 and is found in various other compounds.
Sulfur trioxide (alternative spelling sulphur trioxide, also known as nisso sulfan) is the chemical compound with the formula SO3. It has been described as "unquestionably the most [economically] important sulfur oxide". It is prepared on an industrial scale as a precursor to sulfuric acid.
Vacuum distillation or distillation under reduced pressure is a type of distillation performed under reduced pressure, which allows the purification of compounds not readily distilled at ambient pressures or simply to save time or energy. This technique separates compounds based on differences in their boiling points. This technique is used when the boiling point of the desired compound is difficult to achieve or will cause the compound to decompose. Reduced pressures decrease the boiling point of compounds. The reduction in boiling point can be calculated using a temperature-pressure nomograph using the Clausius–Clapeyron relation.
Iron(II) chloride, also known as ferrous chloride, is the chemical compound of formula FeCl2. It is a paramagnetic solid with a high melting point. The compound is white, but typical samples are often off-white. FeCl2 crystallizes from water as the greenish tetrahydrate, which is the form that is most commonly encountered in commerce and the laboratory. There is also a dihydrate. The compound is highly soluble in water, giving pale green solutions.
In chemistry, a dehydration reaction is a chemical reaction that involves the loss of water from the reacting molecule or ion. Dehydration reactions are common processes, the reverse of a hydration reaction.
Cyclohexanone is the organic compound with the formula (CH2)5CO. The molecule consists of six-carbon cyclic molecule with a ketone functional group. This colorless oily liquid has a sweet odor reminiscent of benzaldehyde. Over time, samples of cyclohexanone assume a pale yellow color. Cyclohexanone is slightly soluble in water and miscible with common organic solvents. Millions of tonnes are produced annually, mainly as a precursor to nylon.
Dichlorocarbene is the reactive intermediate with chemical formula CCl2. Although this chemical species has not been isolated, it is a common intermediate in organic chemistry, being generated from chloroform. This bent diamagnetic molecule rapidly inserts into other bonds.
Meldrum's acid or 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-4,6-dione is an organic compound with formula C6H8O4. Its molecule has a heterocyclic core with four carbon and two oxygen atoms; the formula can also be written as [−O−(C 2)−O−(C=O)−(CH2)−(C=O)−].
Xanthone is an organic compound with the molecular formula C13H8O2. It is a white solid.
Nitrosyl chloride is the chemical compound with the formula NOCl. It is a yellow gas that is commonly encountered as a component of aqua regia, a mixture of 3 parts concentrated hydrochloric acid and 1 part of concentrated nitric acid. It is a strong electrophile and oxidizing agent. It is sometimes called Tilden's reagent, after William A. Tilden, who was the first to produce it as a pure compound.
4-Nitroaniline, p-nitroaniline or 1-amino-4-nitrobenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H6N2O2. A yellow solid, it is one of three isomers of nitroaniline. It is an intermediate in the production of dyes, antioxidants, pharmaceuticals, gasoline, gum inhibitors, poultry medicines, and as a corrosion inhibitor.
Housane or bicyclo[2.1.0]pentane is a saturated cycloalkane with the formula C5H8. It is a colorless, volatile liquid at room temperature. It was named "housane" because of its shape, which resembles a simple drawing of a house. Structurally, the molecule consists of cyclopropane fused to cyclobutane. The synthesis of molecules containing multiple strained rings, such as housane, is a traditional endeavor in synthetic organic chemistry.
Thiete is a heterocyclic compound containing an unsaturated four-membered ring with three carbon atoms and one sulfur atom. It is more commonly encountered not on its own, but in anellated derivatives, several of which have been synthesized. Thietes are generally not very stable.
2-Cyclopentenone is the organic compound with the chemical formula (CH2)2(CH)2CO. 2-Cyclopentenone contains two functional groups, a ketone and an alkene. It is a colorless liquid. Its isomer, 3-cyclopentenone is less commonly encountered.
Propionaldehyde or propanal is the organic compound with the formula CH3CH2CHO. It is the 3-carbon aldehyde. It is a colourless, flammable liquid with a pungent and fruity odour. It is produced on a large scale industrially.
2-Furonitrile is a colorless derivative of furan possessing a nitrile group.
In organic chemistry, ketonic decarboxylation is a type of organic reaction and a decarboxylation converting two equivalents of a carboxylic acid to a symmetric ketone by the application of heat. It can be thought of as a decarboxylative Claisen condensation of two identical molecules. Water and carbon dioxide are byproducts:
Thermal rearrangements of aromatic hydrocarbons are considered to be unimolecular reactions that directly involve the atoms of an aromatic ring structure and require no other reagent than heat. These reactions can be categorized in two major types: one that involves a complete and permanent skeletal reorganization (isomerization), and one in which the atoms are scrambled but no net change in the aromatic ring occurs (automerization). The general reaction schemes of the two types are illustrated in Figure 1.
Hydroxylamine-O-sulfonic acid (HOSA) or aminosulfuric acid is the inorganic compound with molecular formula H3NO4S that is formed by the sulfonation of hydroxylamine with oleum. It is a white, water-soluble and hygroscopic, solid, commonly represented by the condensed structural formula H2NOSO3H, though it actually exists as a zwitterion and thus is more accurately represented as +H3NOSO3−. It is used as a reagent for the introduction of amine groups (–NH2), for the conversion of aldehydes into nitriles and alicyclic ketones into lactams (cyclic amides), and for the synthesis of variety of nitrogen-containing heterocycles.
Vinyllithium is an organolithium compound with the formula LiC2H3. A colorless or white solid, it is encountered mainly as a solution in tetrahydrofuran (THF). It is a reagent in synthesis of organic compounds, especially for vinylations.