THE HYDROGEN ISOTOPE EFFECT IN THE PYROLYSIS OF ETHYL-1,1,2,2-d4 CHLORIDE
The hydrogen isotope effect in the pyrolysis of ethyl-1,1,2,2-d4 chloride has been investigated in the temperature range 758–989 °C, yielding the relative rate constant expression[Formula: see text]where kH and kD are the rate constants for the production of C2D4 (and HCl) and of C2D3H (and DCl) per β-deuterium atom respectively.The isotope effect is pressure dependent, its value increasing with decreasing pressure. The pressure effect in ethyl chloride has also been studied, and a qualitative explanation is given for the pressure dependence of intermolecular and intramolecular isotope effects.The data are compared with the isotope effects in ethyl-d4 bromide and ethyl-d4 acetate, and the conclusion is reached that the evidence supports a four-centered transition-state complex in the case of the halides.