The Thermal Decomposition of Azomethane in Presence of Nitric Oxide

In presence of large amounts of nitric oxide, azomethane decomposes with only a small pressure increase yielding insignificant quantities of hydrocarbons in the volatile products. This is interpreted to indicate an initial dissociation of azomethane into nitrogen and free methyls which for the most part combine with nitric oxide to produce formaldoxime. The latter is partially oxidized by nitric oxide. The upper limit of the ratio of nitric oxide to azomethane reacting appears to be two. It is probable that the addition of methyls to azomethane is not completely suppressed in presence of nitric oxide. The energy of activation of azomethane decomposition in presence of nitric oxide is the same as that for pure azomethane.