Kinetics of the I₂‐catalyzed isomerization of allyl chloride to cis‐ and trans‐1‐chloro‐1‐propene. The stabilization energy of the chloroallyl radical

The I₂‐catalyzed isomerization of allyl chloride to cis‐ and trans‐ l‐chloro‐l‐propene was measured in a static system in the temperature range 225–329°C. Propylene was found as a side product, mainly at the lower temperatures. The rate constant for an abstraction of a hydrogen atom from allyl chloride by an iodine atom was found to obey the equation log [k,/M⁻¹ sec⁻¹] = (10.5 ± 0.2) −; (18.3 ± 10.4)/θ, where θ is 2.303RT in kcal/mole. Using this activation energy together with 1 ± 1 kcal/mole for the activation energy for the reaction of HI with alkyl radicals gives DH⁰ (CH₂CHCHClH) = 88.6 ± 1.1 kcal/mole, and 7.4 ± 1.5 kcal/mole as the stabilization energy (SE) of the chloroallyl radical. Using the results of Abell and Adolf on allyl fluoride and allyl bromide, we conclude DH⁰ (CH₂CHCHFH) = 88.6 ± 1.1 and DH⁰ (CH₂CHCHBrH) = 89.4 ± 1.1 kcal/ mole; the SE of the corresponding radicals are 7.4 ± 2.2 and 7.8 ± 1.5 kcal/mole. The bond dissociation energies of the CH bonds in the allyl halides are similar to that of propene, while the SE values are about 2 kcal/mole less than in the allyl radical, resulting perhaps more from the stabilization of alkyl radicals by α‐halogen atoms than from differences in the unsaturated systems.