THE REACTION OF METHYL RADICALS WITH FORMALDEHYDE

Abstract
Azomethane was photolyzed in the presence of up to 30 mole per cent formaldehyde and formaldehyde-d2 at temperatures from 80 °C to 180 °C. The value of the activation energy for the abstraction reaction with methyl radicals was found to be 6.2 kcal mole−1 for CH2O and 7.9 kcal mole−1 for CD2O. The results indicated that the formyl radical was stable over the temperature range studied.