THE HOMOGENEOUS UNIMOLECULAR DECOMPOSITION OF GASEOUS ALKYL NITRITES: VII. A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE EFFECT OF CHEMICAL CONFIGURATION ON THE REACTION RATE

A general discussion is given of the rate of unimolecular decomposition of an homologous series of compounds from the point of view of the Kassel theory. The experimental evidence is discussed with special reference to the decomposition of the alkyl nitrites. It is concluded that existing theories are unable to account for the progressive increase in rate as one ascends the homologous series.