one for the chemistry students/graduates
- Thread starter Tomsk
- Start date
I should have given more info.
It's an air steriliser that produces hydroxyls for killing bacteria and virus' and we want to know what effect it will have on an atmosphere where there is ethylene present.
I'm guessing there will be further reactions with oxygen.
It's an air steriliser that produces hydroxyls for killing bacteria and virus' and we want to know what effect it will have on an atmosphere where there is ethylene present.
I'm guessing there will be further reactions with oxygen.
That doesn't really happen I think... You.... haven't really got a real outcome there. OH is a negative ion.
Not in air anyway... I think Ethylene is much too stable, and Hydroxide works best in solution...(contact with water).
If there was vapour in the air THEN perhaps (tell me if I'm BSing or not) it could dissolve in droplets, but the hydroxide would react with water to form... H2O and Hydroxide, and Hydroxide being a nucleophile won't attack the electron dense area of the C=C double bond. Carbon isn't sufficiently electronegative to force Hydrogen to be partially positive, therefore making it un-reactive with OH-.
Edit: Yeah stuff doesn't happen
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Hydroxide is in the negative anion, HO-, hydroxyl is the radical HO. This looks like a hydrogen abstraction which is a common reaction of radicals with organic substrates.
Edit are you sure the reaction you give is correct? Radicals can add to alkenes, this is one method to make polymers....not sure if it work with OH though.
Edit are you sure the reaction you give is correct? Radicals can add to alkenes, this is one method to make polymers....not sure if it work with OH though.
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+1 *sigh*
the air sterilisers will produce hydroxyl radicals so yes, it will react with ethene.
radical reactions are complicated and you get multiple products - probably 10 or so, from ethanol, to glycols, possibly some ethers, ethoxy compounds etc...
radical reactions are complicated and you get multiple products - probably 10 or so, from ethanol, to glycols, possibly some ethers, ethoxy compounds etc...
No - as PGdude has pointed out, there's nowhere near enough free energy to make any reaction happen. Assuming that the air steriliser really is pumping out OH- and it's not just hype, it will be neutralised pretty quickly by just about everything it comes in contact with, like dust, or any solid surface. Ethylene vapour is very stable unless ignited or otherwise has a lot of energy added. The real danger here is free ethylene vapour in a room with at least one piece of equipment that can create a spark. Although again, the ignition energy would probably need a naked flame at the least.
M
nope - we are not talking about hydroxyl ions, we are talking about hydroxyl radicals which are more than reactive enough to attack ethene at room temperature.
I stand corrected. What I can see after a search suggests that some ethene might be saturated to ethane - although most hits seem to want to sell me something which always pushes the skepticism meter up a bit.
M
I remembered the manufacturer of the air purifier.
http://www.baxxuk.com/index.html
The ethylene levels in our rooms are typically <5ppm although there may be momentary spikes to ~20ppm.
http://www.baxxuk.com/index.html
The ethylene levels in our rooms are typically <5ppm although there may be momentary spikes to ~20ppm.
Ethandiols and glycols would be formed. Perhaps some other things.... but I think to get more complicated you'd need a catalyst of some sort or some other steps that I'm not recalling... Haven't done Chem in over a year and really don't thing ethylene with a radical could kick off a chain reaction... But I'm open to being incorrect.