The McCunn Research Lab

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the heating of a molecule in an oxygen-free environment until bonds break. This is a great way to study the thermal decomposition of molecule. For our experiments, a dilute matrix mixture (1:250-1:7000 sample: argon) is kept behind a pulsed valve. The pulsed valve then releases the mixture into a silicon carbide (SiC) tube where heating occurs. The tube is normally heated to 1100-1500 K. This is where bonds are actually broken and pyrolysis products are formed. The mixture then expands out of the nozzle and onto a cold cesium iodide (CsI) window (see MI-FTIR slide) where products are identified.