This work provides new temperature-dependent mole fractions of elusive intermediates relevant to the low-temperature oxidation of dimethyl ether (DME). It extends the previous study of Moshammer et al. [J. Phys. Chem. A 2015, 119, 7361-7374 ] in which a combination of a jet-stirred reactor and molecular beam mass spectrometry with single-photon ionization via tunable synchrotron-generated vacuum-ultraviolet radiation was used to identify (but not quantify) several highly oxygenated species. Here, temperature-dependent concentration profiles of 17 components were determined in the range of 450-1000 K and compared to up-to-date kinetic modeling results. Special emphasis is paid toward the validation and application of a theoretical method for predicting photoionization cross sections that are hard to obtain experimentally but essential to turn mass spectral data into mole fraction profiles. The presented approach enabled the quantification of the hydroperoxymethyl formate (HOOCH2OCH2O), which is a key intermediate in the low-temperature oxidation of DME. The quantification of this keto-hydroperoxide together with the temperature-dependent concentration profiles of other intermediates including H2O2, HCOOH, CH3OCHO, and CH3OOH reveals new opportunities for the development of a next-generation DME combustion chemistry mechanism.
Wang, Zhandong; Zhang, Lidong; Moshammer, Kai F.; Popolan-Vaida, Denisia M.; Shankar, Vijai S.; Lucassen, Arnas; Hemken, Christian; Taatjes, Craig A.; Leone, Stephen R.; Kohse-Höinghaus, Katharina; Hansen, Nils H.; Dagaut, Philippe; Sarathy, S.M.
Chain-branching reactions represent a general motif in chemistry, encountered in atmospheric chemistry, combustion, polymerization, and photochemistry; the nature and amount of radicals generated by chain-branching are decisive for the reaction progress, its energy signature, and the time towards its completion. In this study, experimental evidence for two new types of chain-branching reactions is presented, based upon detection of highly oxidized multifunctional molecules (HOM) formed during the gas-phase low-temperature oxidation of a branched alkane under conditions relevant to combustion. The oxidation of 2,5-dimethylhexane (DMH) in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) was studied using synchrotron vacuum ultra-violet photoionization molecular beam mass spectrometry (SVUV-PI-MBMS). Specifically, species with four and five oxygen atoms were probed, having molecular formulas of C8H14O4 (e.g., diketo-hydroperoxide/keto-hydroperoxy cyclic ether) and C8H16O5 (e.g., keto-dihydroperoxide/dihydroperoxy cyclic ether), respectively. The formation of C8H16O5 species involves alternative isomerization of OOQOOH radicals via intramolecular H-atom migration, followed by third O2 addition, intramolecular isomerization, and OH release; C8H14O4 species are proposed to result from subsequent reactions of C8H16O5 species. The mechanistic pathways involving these species are related to those proposed as a source of low-volatility highly oxygenated species in Earth's troposphere. At the higher temperatures relevant to auto-ignition, they can result in a net increase of hydroxyl radical production, so these are additional radical chain-branching pathways for ignition. The results presented herein extend the conceptual basis of reaction mechanisms used to predict the reaction behavior of ignition, and have implications on atmospheric gas-phase chemistry and the oxidative stability of organic substances.