EXPLANATION OF THE ANOMALOUS DECOMPOSITION BEHAVIOR OF PROPYLENE CARBONATE ON A GRAPHITE ANODE BY MOPAC

In order to understand the anomalous decomposition behavior of propylene carbonate (PC) on a graphite electrode, the reaction mechanism for the decomposition of propylene and ethylene carbonate (EC) was studied by means of absolute rate theory with semi empirical molecular orbital calculations. The dimerization reaction of reduced radical is supposed to be the rate determining step and the slower dimerization rate in PC rather than that in EC cause the anomalous decomposition of PC.