Rates of elementary processes in the chain reaction between hydrogen and oxygen I. Reactions of oxygen atoms

Abstract

The rates of reaction of 3 P oxygen atoms with hydroxyl and hydrogen have been measured in a flow system at pressures around 2 mmHg. The former reaction, O + OH -> H + O 2 , ( — 4) occurred in the products of the rapid reaction between H and NO 2 , and was followed by measurements of atomic oxygen concentrations. k -4 was found to be 5±2 x 10 -11 cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 at 265 and 293 °K. This result, when combined with data on the reverse reaction at elevated temperatures, gives a value of k -4 which is virtually independent of temperature and equal to about 1/20 of the bimolecular collision frequency. The reaction O + H 2 -> OH + H (3) was studied in the absence of molecular oxygen and found to have a rate constant of 6 x 10 -13 exp (-8900/ RT ) cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 in the range 409 to 733 °K. This is in good agreement with values obtained at higher temperatures. The rate constant for O + D 2 was significantly less than that for O + H 2 at temperatures between 491 and 671 °K.