The thermal decomposition of ethane has been reinvestigated using the single pulse, reflected shock technique. Reflected shock temperatures were corrected for boundary layerinduced nonidealities using the thermal decomposition of cyclohexene as a kinetic standard. The rate constant for the reactionwas calculated from the rate of formation of methane under conditions of very low extent of reaction, over a temperature range of 1000-1241 K. Ethane compositions of 1% and 3% in argon at total reaction pressures of 3 and 9 atm were used, and a small pressure dependence of k was observed. An RRKM model is described which gives excellent agreement with this and other recent dissociation and recombination rate constant data in light of a recent revision to the thermochemistry of the methyl radical. In the range of 1000-1300 K an RRKM extrapolated k ; is given by the expression, log k f = 17.2 -91,000/2.3RT, while a t 298 K the calculation gives log k r l (l/mol sec) = 10.44, where kZl is calculated from h f and the equilibrium constant.

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