Displacement of Cl substituent in chlorofluorotoluene in corona discharge

Highlights: • Dissociative products in corona discharge were observed via vibronic emission spectrum. • We find the difference in products between 2-chloro-6-fluorotoluene and 2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl chloride. • We discuss the difference in terms of bond dissociation energies. • We propose a mechanism for dissociative process of precursors in corona discharge. The precursor 2-chloro-6-fluorotoluene can produce the 2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl radical in corona discharge, together with the 2-fluorobenzyl radical which could be generated by the displacement of Cl with H of methyl group. In order to identify the reaction mechanism, two precursors, 2-chloro-6-fluorotoluene and 2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl chloride were employed to observe the vibronic emission spectra from the corona discharge with a large amount of inert carrier gas He. By comparing the spectra observed, we are able to propose the displacement mechanism of Cl, in which methyl group is believed to play an important role in the process, which is discussed in terms of bond dissociation energies.