Kinetics of the OH and Cl reactions with N-methylformamide, N,N-dimethylformamide and N,N-dimethylacetamide

A relative kinetic technique was used in combination with long-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to study the kinetics of the reactions of N-methylformamide (HC(O)NHCH3), N,N-dimethylformamide (HC(O)N(CH3)2) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (CH3C(O)N(CH3)2) with OH radicals and Cl atoms at 298 ± 2 K and atmospheric pressure 1000 ± 10 mbar of air. The measured OH and Cl reaction rate coefficients (in units of cm3 molecule−1 s−1) were, respectively, (0.86 ± 0.24) × 10−11 and (0.97 ± 0.17) × 10−10 for N-methylformamide, (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10−11 and (1.9 ± 0.3) × 10−10 for N,N-dimethylformamide, (1.9 ± 0.3) × 10−11 and (2.5 ± 0.4) × 10−10 for N,N-dimethylacetamide. The results are presented and discussed in terms of structure–activity relationships and the atmospheric impact of the amides.