Experimental study on n-hexane pyrolysis initiated by 1-nitropropane in a low-pressure flow reactor

In order to investigate the species pool and primary channels of initiated pyrolysis of n-hexane, the low-pressure (30 Torr, 4.0 kPa) flow reactor pyrolysis of n-hexane initiated by 5% 1-nitropropane (1-NP) was studied experimentally in a wide range of temperature from 623 K to 1223 K. Combined with synchrotron vacuum ul-traviolet (SVUV) photoionization mass spectra scanned at photon energies ranging from 9.0 to 14.7 eV and near-threshold photoionization efficiency (PIE) spectra, 29 pyrolysis species, covering C1-C6 hydrocarbons and several pyrolysis species containing O or N atoms, were identified. Based on the ion signal intensities of the visible peaks in the mass spectra, the mole fraction profiles of all the experimental species were evaluated. The experimental results suggested that the initial pyrolysis temperature of n-hexane was reduced by approximately 275-325 K. On the basis of the mole fraction profiles and the initial formation temperatures reported in this work and rate coefficients proposed in previous studies, the 1-NP-initiated pyrolysis mechanisms of n-hexane were discussed. It was suggested that n-hexane was dominantly consumed by the H-abstraction reactions by the attack of OH radical in this work. The 1-NP-initiated pyrolysis of n-hexane mainly proceeded via reactions to produce C3H6 + C3H7, or 1-C4H8 + C2H5, or 1-C5H10 + CH3.