Analysis of the radical hydrogen transfer pathway for cleaving strong bonds in coal
Hydrogen transfer processes involving radical intermediates are of key importance in the liquefaction of coal. While the primary function of donor solvents is to transfer H{lg_bullet} to coal-derived radicals that form when weak bonds are cleaved thermolytically, growing evidence suggests that the donor solvent can play a role in promoting cleavage of strong {alpha}-bonds. McMillen and Malhotra have explained the results in terms of a single-step mechanism referred to as radical H-transfer (RHT). Mechanistic kinetic models have been used to suggest the importance of RHT pathways in anthracene- and pyrene-based solvent systems. However, we question the reliability of these approaches because little experimental data exists to support the 16.5 kcal/mol intrinsic barriers they assume for RHT reactions. Unambiguous evidence for RHT is very difficult to obtain experimentally because at the temperatures required to activate the RHT reaction, a suite of multistep reactions can occur, which yield the same products, i.e. H-elimination from hydroaryl radicals followed by ipso addition. For this reason, we have sought to gain insight to barrier heights for RHT from theory. This paper reports our use of Marcus theory in combination with ab initio and semiempirical molecular orbital methods to show how the intrinsic barriers for RHT reactions depend on structural and thermodynamic properties of the reacting partners. In addition, reactions thought to be mediated by RHT are reexamined using mechanistic kinetic modeling (MKM) to determine the extent to which these reactions can be explained by conventional pathways.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 10104705
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-SA-22667; CONF-930904-14; ON: DE94002953
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 7. international conference on coal science,Banff (Canada),12-17 Sep 1993; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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