1-Hexene Ozonolysis across Atmospheric and Combustion Temperatures via Synchrotron-Based Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry

This study investigates the complex interaction between ozone and the autoxidation of 1-hexene over a wide temperature range (300–800 K), overlapping atmospheric and combustion regimes. It is found that atmospheric molecular mechanisms initiate the oxidation of 1-hexene from room temperature up to combustion temperatures, leading to the formation of highly oxygenated organic molecules. As temperature rises, the highly oxygenated organic molecules contribute to radical-branching decomposition pathways inducing a high reactivity in the low-temperature combustion region, i.e., from 550 K. Above 650 K, the thermal decomposition of ozone into oxygen atoms becomes the dominant process, and a remarkable enhancement of the conversion is observed due to their diradical nature, counteracting the significant negative temperature coefficient behavior usually observed for 1-hexene. In order to better characterize the formation of heavy oxygenated organic molecules at the lowest temperatures, two analytical performance methods have been combined for the first time: synchrotron-based mass-selected photoelectron spectroscopy and orbitrap chemical ionization mass spectrometry. At the lowest studied temperatures (below 400 K), this analytical work has demonstrated the formation of the ketohydroperoxides usually found during the LTC oxidation of 1-hexene, as well as of molecules containing up to nine O atoms.