THE RATE OF REACTION OF ACTIVE NITROGEN WITH ETHANE, PROPANE, AND NEOPENTANE

Abstract

The reactions of active nitrogen with ethane, propane, and neopentane have been studied over the temperature range 0 to 450 °C. A cobalt probe technique was used to stop the reactions after various reaction times. Second order rate constants have been calculated on the assumption that nitrogen atoms are the only reactive species in active nitrogen. Broken Arrhenius lines were obtained for both the ethane and neopentane reactions but this behavior was not observed with the propane reaction. The dual activation energies have been attributed to a mechanism involving initiation by both excited molecules and either nitrogen or hydrogen atoms. Methods are outlined by which an estimate has been made of the concentration of excited species assumed to be involved in the ethane reaction.