The Gas-phase Nitration of Alkanes

The principal chemical and kinetic results obtained for this reaction are reported and discussed critically. A brief description is given of its industrial application to the manufacture of nitroalkanes. The detailed mechanism suggested during recent years for the nitration of alkanes by nitrogen dioxide is discussed in terms of the primary steps. The fundamental similarity of the mechanisms of nitration by nitrogen dioxide and by nitric acid is established on the basis of experimental data. A list of 119 references is included.