The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Engineering Science in Chemical Engineering at Newark College of Engineering

Equilibrium constants for the mercuric acetate-catalyzed been determined in the liquid and vapor phase over the temperature range 30 ° 175 °C by gas chromatography analysis. A novel synthesis of the cisand trans-isomers of l,2-dimethoxyethylene is discussed. From a screening of 29 catalysts, mercuric acetate, mercuric benzoate, and mercuric salicylate were found to be favorable isomerization catalysts. For the liquid phase reaction, Similarly, for the vapor phase reaction, A linear regression analysis, employing a least-squares curve fit and an analysis of variance, was performed on the data. An independent experimental error analysis (for uncertainties in measurement, reproducibility, etc.) was performed using partial differentials and was consistent with the above findings. cis-1,2-Dimethoxyethylene was more stable relative to its trans-isomer in both the liquid and vapor phase. The greater amount of cis-isomer present at equilibrium (the ciseffect) is discussed in terms of dipole-dipole interactions with a resultant increase in the C=C bond strength for the cis-isomer due to electron density shifts. The dimethoxyethylenes are correlated with previous results found in the literature for related systems (e.g. dihaloethylenes, etc.). Additional arguments are also advanced.