Abstract
WHEN the lower alkyl nitrite and nitrate esters1,2 (RONO and RONO2) decompose isothermally, they do so by initial fission of the O–N bond yielding an alkoxyl radical RO· and the appropriate oxide of nitrogen. This step commonly controls the rate of isothermal decomposition ; the subsequent reactions of the initial products2 determine the stoichiometry. It has generally been assumed that the greater extent of decomposition of nitrates reflects the superior reactivity of nitrogen dioxide, while in the nitrites1 isothermal decomposition scarcely involves nitric oxide at all : 
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GRAY, P., WILLIAMS, A. Nitric Oxide Reduction in Methyl Nitrite Pyrolysis and the Transition from Isothermal Decomposition to Adiabatic Flame. Nature 188, 56 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/188056a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/188056a0
