Sonochemical and photochemical reactions of bromotrichloromethane in the presence and absence of 1-alkene

Comparison between sonolysis and photolysis of bromotrichloromethane in the presence and absence of 1-alkenes was performed to elucidate the characteristics of homogeneous sonochemistry. Results indicate that the photolysis of BrCCl3 generates radicals in a homogeneous and dispersed state, while sonolysis generates them in a heterogeneous and localized state. In the photochemical reaction the BrCCl3-adduct was obtained over a wide range of mole fractions of BrCCl3, whereas in the sonochemical reaction the yield of the BrCCl3-adduct showed a sharp maximum in a range of high mole fractions of BrCCl3. This may be attributed to the large variation in surface tension. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.