Flash vacuum pyrolysis

Two key parameters are the temperature and duration (or residence time), which are adjusted to optimize yield, conversion, and avoidance of intractable products.

[1] Often the experiment entails volatilizing a precursor, which is drawn through a "hot zone" followed by rapid condensation.

The hot zone must impart heat to the gaseous molecules, so it is generally packed with solids to induce gas-solid collisions.

Rapid post-reaction cooling and the dilution inherent in gases both suppress bimolecular degradation pathways.

[4] The strained ring benzocyclobutenone has been prepared by FVP from a simple benzoyl chloride precursor.

Illustration of FVP process, the intermediate ketene is unstable and the product, like most organic compounds, tolerates brief, but not prolonged treatment at high temperatures. [ 5 ]