Mechanisms of the thermal degradation of alkylbenzenes

Pyrolysis of more than forty alkylbenzenes was studied and the qualitative and quantitative compositions of the degradation products determined. Pyrolysis was performed in a tubular flow reactor with a gold capillary at 595°. A strong relationship between structure and pyrolysate composition exists even in the case of very closely related isomers. From the results obtained the degradation mechanisms were established for alkylbenzenes