A shock tube study of the CH2O + NO2 reaction at high temperatures

The reaction of CH₂O with NO₂ has been studied with a shock tube equipped with two stabilized ew CO lasers. The production of CO, NO, and H₂O has been monitored with the CO lasers in the temperature range of 1140–1650 K using three different Ar-diluted CH₂O-NO₂ mixtures. Kinetic modeling and sensitivity analysis of the observed CO, NO, and H₂O production profiles over the entire range of reaction conditions employed indicate that the bimolecular metathetical reaction, NO₂ + CH₂O → HONO + CHO (1) affects most strongly the yields of these products. Combination of the kinetically modeled values of ??₁ with those obtained recently from a low temperature pyrolytic study, ref. [8], leads to for the broad temperature range of 300–2000 K.     

Thermal reaction of CH2O with NO2 in the temperature range of 393–476 K: FTIR product measurement and kinetic modeling

The thermal reaction of CH₂O with NO₂ has been investigated in the temperature range of 393–476 K by means of FTIR product analysis. Kinetic modeling of the measured CH₂O, NO, CO, and CO₂ concentration time profiles under varying reaction conditions gave rise to the rate constants for the following key reactions: (1) and (2) The error limits shown represent only the scatter (±1 σ) of the modeled values. In the modeling, the total rate constant for the CHO + NO₂ reaction, k₂ + k₃, was not varied and the value reported by Gutman and co-workers (ref. [8]) was used for the whole temperature range investigated here. The proposed reaction mechanism, employing these newly established rate constants, can quantitively account for nearly all measured product yields, including the [CO]/([CO] + [CO₂]) ratios reported by earlier workers.     

Shock-tube studies of the reactions of NO2 with NO2, SO2, and CO

The thermal decomposition of NO₂ and its atom-transfer reactions with SO₂ and CO have been studied behind incident shock waves using photometric detection methods. From the decomposition study it is possible to obtain information on the rate of the reaction 2NO₂ → antisymmetric-NO₃ + NO. The results on the reaction, NO₂ + SO₂ → NO + SO₃ extend the earlier work of Armitage and Cullis to about 2000°K. The reaction with CO [NO₂ +] [CO NO + CO₂] at shock temperatures is somewhat faster than predicted from available low-temperature data and provides a modification of the rate-constant expression that is applicable over a wide temperature range.     

An FTIR product study of the reaction between HCO and NO2

The product distribution of the reaction (1a) $$\rm\longrightarrow OH+NO+CO$$ (1b) $$\rm\longrightarrow HNO+CO_{2}$$ (1c) $$\rm\longrightarrow H+NO+CO_{2}$$ (1d) $$\rm\longrightarrow HCO_{2}+NO$$ (1e) (1f) (1g) was investigated at room temperature in the gas phase in Ar buffer gas at 570 mbar pressure by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Mixtures of NO₂/H₂CO/Ar were photolyzed under stationary conditions using a high‐pressure Hg lamp at λ = 300–340 nm. NO, CO, CO₂, HONO, and H₂O were found as major reaction products. A small amount of N₂O was detected at long reaction times. From the yields of CO and CO₂, branching ratios were found to be (k_1a + k_1b)/k₁ = (0.66 ± 0.10) and (k_1c + k_1d + k_1e)/k₁ = (0.34 ± 0.10). The formation of HONO was attributed to reaction ( 1a ) and/or reaction ( 1c ) followed by the reaction HNO + NO₂ → NO + HONO with a combined branching ratio of (k_1a + k_1c)/k₁ = (0.28 ± 0.10). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 136–145, 2000     

Relative rates of reaction of hydroxyl radicals with O(3P) atoms and CO molecules

The rates of decay of O(³P) atoms in H₂/CO/N₂ mixtures in a discharge flow system have been measured, using O + CO chemiluminescence. The mechanism is: O + H₂ → OH + H (1), O + OH → O₂ + H (2), CO + OH → CO₂ + H (3). At 425 K, k₂/k₃ = 260 ± 20; literature values of k₃ combine to yield k₂ = (2.65 ± 0.52) × 10¹⁰ dm³ mol^?1 s^?1.     

Experimental and kinetic modeling of the reduction of NO by isobutane in a Jsr at 1 atm

A kinetic study of the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) by isobutane in simulated conditions of the reburning zone was carried out in a fused silica jet‐stirred reactor operating at 1 atm, at temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1450 K. In this new series of experiments, the initial mole fraction of NO was 1000 ppm, that of isobutane was 2200 ppm, and the equivalence ratio was varied from 0.75 to 2. It was demonstrated that for a given temperature, the reduction of NO is favored when the temperature is increased and a maximum NO reduction occurs slightly above stoichiometric conditions. The present results generally follow those reported in previous studies of the reduction of NO by C₁ to C₃ hydrocarbons or natural gas as reburn fuel. A detailed chemical kinetic modeling of the present experiments was performed using an updated and improved kinetic scheme (979 reversible reactions and 130 species). An overall reasonable agreement between the present data and the modeling was obtained. Furthermore, the proposed kinetic mechanism can be successfully used to model the reduction of NO by ethylene, ethane, acetylene, a natural gas blend (methane‐ethane 10:1), propene, and HCN. According to this study, the main route to NO reduction by isobutane involves ketenyl radical. The model indicates that the reduction of NO proceeds through the reaction path: iC₄H₁₀ → C₃H₆ → C₂H₄ → C₂H₃ → C₂H₂ → HCCO; HCCO + NO → HCNO + CO and HCN + CO₂; HCNO + H → HCN → NCO → NH; NH + NO → N₂ and NH + H → followed by N + NO → N₂; NH + NO → N₂O followed by N₂O + H → N₂. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 365–377, 2000     

Effects of nitric oxide on the thermal decomposition of methyl nitrite: Overall kinetics and rate constants for the HNO + HNO and HNO + 2NO reactions

The effects of NO on the decomposition of CH₃ONO have been investigated in the temperature range 450–520 K at a constant pressure of 710 torr using He as buffer gas. The measured time-dependent concentration profiles of CH₃ONO, NO, N₂O, and CH₂O can be quantitatively accounted for with a general mechanism consisting of various reactions of CH₃O, HNO, and (HNO)₂. The results of kinetic modeling with sensitivity analyses indicate that the disappearance rate of CH₃ONO is weakly affected by NO addition, whereas that of the HNO intermediate strongly altered by the added NO. In the presence of low NO concentrations, the modeling of N₂O yields leads to the rate constant for the bimolecular reaction, HNO + HNO → N₂O + H₂O (25): In the presence of high NO concentrations (P_NO > 50 torr), the modeling of CH₂O yields gives the rate constant for the termolecular radical formation channel, HNO + 2NO → HN₂O + NO₂ (35): Discussion on the mechanisms for reactions (25) and (35), and the alkyl homolog of (35), RNO + 2NO, is presented herein. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Shock initiated ignition in COS?O2?Ar mixtures

The ignition of COS + O₂ mixtures diluted in argon was studied behind reflected shocks in a single-pulse shock tube over the temperature range of 1100–1700°K. Ignition delay times and the distribution of reaction products before and after ignition were determined experimentally. From a total of 63 tests run at varying initial conditions, the following correlation for the induction times was derived: where β₁ = +0.30, β₂ = 1.12, and E = 16.9 kcal/mole. Using a reaction scheme of 14 steps, the following values were obtained by a computer modeling of the induction times: β₁ = +0.22, β₂ = 1.55, and E = 17.3 kcal/mole. The calculations showed that the reaction COS + S → CO + S₂ caused the inhibiting effect of the COS. The reaction COS → O ± CO₂ + S has a very strong accelerating effect, whereas the parallel channel COS + O → CO + SO shows the opposite effect. It was also shown that the reaction O + S₂ → SO + O is very slow and does not contribute to the overall oxidation reaction. It is suggested that the rate constant given to the four-center reaction COS + SO → CO₂ + S₂, that is, 10¹¹ cm³/mole · sec at 300°K is incorrect. This constant is not much higher than 10⁸ cm³/mole · sec at 1300°K.     

Chemical lasers produced from O(3P) atom reactions. V. CO laser emissions and vibrational population distribution in the flash-initiated SO2-CFBr3 system

CO laser emission at 5 μm was detected when SO₂ and CFBr₃ were flash photolyzed in the vacuum ultraviolet above 165 nm. Over 40 vibrational–rotational transitions ranging from Δv = 2 → 1 to 14 → 13, with the exception of those between 8 → 7 and 11 → 10, were identified. The CO emission is believed to result from the O + CF reaction: The vibrational population of the CO has been measured by means of a CO laser resonance absorption method. The CO was found to be vibrationally excited to v = 24 with a vibrational temperature of about 1.4 × 10⁴°K. The “surprisal analysis” of the observed CO distribution showed the possible occurrence of a minor process (presumably O + CFBr) that generated vibrationally colder CO. The effects of various additives on the CO emission were also examined. The addition of CO₂ to a D₂-SO₂-CFBr₃-He mixture resulted in a simultaneous osciallation at 3.6, 5, and 10.6 μm due to DF, CO, and CO₂, respectively. Additionally, the utilization of the O + CF_n (n = 1, 2, 3) reactions as F-atom sources for HF-laser operation in flash-initiated systems were demonstrated.     

Experimental measurements and kinetic modeling of CO/H2/O2/NOx conversion at high pressure

This paper presents results from lean CO/H₂/O₂/NO_x oxidation experiments conducted at 20–100 bar and 600–900 K. The experiments were carried out in a new high‐pressure laminar flow reactor designed to conduct well‐defined experimental investigations of homogeneous gas phase chemistry at pressures and temperatures up to 100 bar and 925 K. The results have been interpreted in terms of an updated detailed chemical kinetic model, designed to operate also at high pressures. The model, describing H₂/O₂, CO/CO₂, and NO_x chemistry, is developed from a critical review of data for individual elementary reactions, with supplementary rate constants determined from ab initio CBS‐QB3 calculations. New or updated rate constants are proposed for important reactions, including OH + HO₂ ? H₂O + O₂, CO + OH ? [HOCO] ? CO₂ + H, HOCO + OH ? CO + H₂O₂, NO₂ + H₂ ? HNO₂ + H, NO₂ + HO₂ ? HONO/HNO₂ + O₂, and HNO₂(+M) ? HONO(+M). Further validation of the model performance is obtained through comparisons with flow reactor experiments from the literature on the chemical systems H₂/O₂, H₂/O₂/NO₂, and CO/H₂O/O₂ at 780–1100 K and 1–10 bar. Moreover, introduction of the reaction CO + H₂O₂ → HOCO + OH into the model yields an improved prediction, but no final resolution, to the recently debated syngas ignition delay problem compared to previous kinetic models. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 454–480, 2008     

Experimental and kinetic modeling study of the effect of sulfur dioxide on the mutual sensitization of the oxidation of nitric oxide and methane

New experimental results were obtained for the mutual sensitization of the oxidation of NO and methane in a fused silica jet‐stirred reactor operating at 10⁵ Pa, over the temperature range 800–1150 K. The effect of the addition of sulfur dioxide was studied. Probe sampling followed by online FTIR analyses and off‐line GC‐TCD/FID analyses allowed the measurement of concentration profiles for the reactants, stable intermediates, and final products. A detailed chemical kinetic modeling of the present experiments was performed. An overall reasonable agreement between the present data and modeling was obtained. According to the present modeling, the mutual sensitization of the oxidation of methane and NO proceeds via the NO to NO₂ conversion by HO₂ and CH₃O₂. The conversion of NO to NO₂ by CH₃O₂ is more important at low temperatures (800 K) than at higher temperatures (850–900 K) where the production of NO₂ is mostly due to the reaction of NO with HO₂. The NO to NO₂ conversion is favored by the production of the HO₂ and CH₃O₂ radicals yielded from the oxidation of the fuel. The production of OH resulting from the oxidation of NO accelerates the oxidation of the fuel: NO + HO₂ → OH+ NO₂ followed by OH + CH₄→ CH₃. In the lower temperature range of this study, the reaction further proceeds via CH₃ + O₂→ CH₃O₂; CH₃O₂+ NO → CH₃O + NO₂. At higher temperatures, the production of CH₃O involves NO₂: CH₃+ NO₂→ CH₃O. This sequence of reactions is followed by CH₃O → CH₂O + H; CH₂O +OH → HCO; HCO + O₂ → HO₂ and H + O₂ → HO₂ → CH₂O + H; CH₂O +OH → HCO; HCO + O₂ → HO₂ and H + O₂ → HO₂. The data and the modeling show that unexpectedly, SO₂ has no measurable effect on the kinetics of the mutual sensitization of the oxidation of NO and methane in the present conditions, whereas it frequently acts as an inhibitor in combustion. This result was rationalized via a detailed kinetic analysis indicating that the inhibiting effect of SO₂ via the sequence of reactions SO₂+H → HOSO, HOSO+O₂ → SO₂+HO₂, equivalent to H+O₂?HO₂, is balanced by the reaction promoting step NO+HO₂ → NO₂+OH. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 37: 406–413, 2005     

The effect of temperature on formaldehyde photooxidation in oxygen-lean atmospheres

The photooxidation of formaldehyde in CH₂O? O₂, oxygen-lean mixtures was studied in the temperature range 298–378 K. H₂ and CO formation and the loss of O₂ proceed by a chain mechanism, which between 328 and 378 K follows the previously suggested kinetics [1] with one modification. The reaction HO₂ + CH₂O ? HO₂CH₂O (5) is now assumed to be reversible and ΔH is estimated to be between 14 and 19 kcal/mol. The relative yields of the chain formed H₂ and CO and of the consumed O₂ remained constant over the entire temperature range indicating that the relative efficiencies of the HO reactions: HO + CH₂O → H₂O HCO? (7), HO + CH₂O → H₂O + HCO (8) and HO + CH₂O → HOCH₂O (9) are temperature independent.     

Heterogeneous recombination of O + CO on solid CO2 at 77 K

Heterogeneous recombination of O + CO → CO₂ over a solid CO₂ surface at 77 K was investigated. A modified discharge flow setup was used to generate low O atom concentrations by the reaction N + NO → N₂ + O(³P). The O atom concentrations were measured upstream and downstream of the solid CO₂ substrate using resonance fluorescence by monitoring the unresolved 130.3 nm triplet transition ³S₁ ? ³P_2,1,0 at the two fixed points. CO₂ formed was determined by measuring the β activity from C¹⁴O₂ produced from CO containing C¹⁴O as a reactant gas. The CO₂ formation was found to be first order in CO and independent of O atom concentration over the entire range of 4.3 × 10¹² to 1.9 × 10¹⁴ cm^?3 and 1.2 × 10¹¹ to 5.6 × 10¹² cm^?3 for CO and O respectively. The first order recombination coefficient, λ_CO was found to be 1.4 (±.38) × 10^?5.     

Kinetics of CN reactions with N2O and CO2

The rate constants for the reaction of CN with N₂O and CO₂ have been measured by the laser dissociation/laser-induced fluorescence (two-laser pump-probe) technique at temperatures between 300 and 740 K. The rate of CN + N₂O was measurable above 500 K, with a least-squares averaged rate constant, k = 10^−11.8±0.4 exp(−3560 ± 181/T) cm³/s. The rate of CN + CO₂, however, was not measurable even at the highest temperature reached in the present work, 743 K, with [CO₂] ⩽ 1.9 × 10¹⁸ molecules/cm³. In order to rationalize the observed kinetics, quantum mechanical calculations based on the BAC-MP4 method were performed. The results of these calculations reveal that the CN + N₂O reaction takes place via a stable adduct NCNNO with a small barrier of 1.1 kcal/mol. The adduct, which is more stable than the reactants by 13 kcal/mol, decomposes into the NCN + NO products with an activation energy of 20.0 kcal/mol. This latter process is thus the rate-controlling step in the CN + N₂O reaction. The CN + CO₂ reaction, on the other hand, occurs with a large barrier of 27.4 kcal/mol, producing an unstable adduct NCOCO which fragments into NCO + CO with a small barrier of 4.5 kcal/mol. The large overall activation energy for this process explains the negligibly low reactivity of the CN radical toward CO₂ below 1000 K. Least-squares analyses of the computed rate constants for these two CN reactions, which fit well with experimental data, give rise to for the temperature range 300–3000 K.     

Theoretical interpretation of the kinetics and mechanisms of the HNO + HNO and HNO + 2NO reactions with a unified model

Previously measured decay rates of HNO in the presence of NO have been kinetically modeled on the basis of thermochemical data calculated with the BAC-MP4 technique. The results of this modeling, aided by TST-RRKM calculations for the association of HNO and the isomerization, decomposition, and stabilization of the many dimers of HNO, reveal that the decay of HNO under NO-lean conditions occurs primarily by association forming cis- and trans-(HNO)₂ at temperatures below 420 K. N₂O, which is a relatively minor product, is believed to be formed by H₂O elimination from cis-HON ? NOH, a product of succesive isomerization reactions: trans-(HNO)₂^? → HN(OH)NO^? → HN(O)NOH^? → cis-HON NOH^?. The calculated rate constants, which fit experimental data quantitatively, can be represented by k = 10^16.2 × T^?2.40e^?590/T cm³/mol sec for the HNO recombination reaction and k = 10^?2.44T^3.98e^?600/T cm³/mol sec for N₂O formation in the temperature range 80–420 K, at a total pressure of 710 torr H₂ or He. Under NO-rich conditions, HNO reacts predominantly by the exothermic termolecular reaction, HNO + 2NO → HN(NO)ONO → HN NO + NO₂, with a rate contant of (6 ± 1) × 10⁹ cm⁶/mol² sec at room temperature, based on both HNO decay and NO₂ production. All existing thermal kinetic data on HNO + HNO and HNO + 2NO processes can be satisfactorily rationalized with a unified model based on the thermochemical data obtained by BAC-MP4 calculations.     

Methanol oxidation on the PtPd(111) alloy surface: A density functional theory study

The mechanisms of methanol (CH₃OH) oxidation on the PtPd(111) alloy surface were systematically investigated by using density functional theory calculations. The energies of all the involved species were analyzed. The results indicated that with the removal of H atoms from adsorbates on PtPd(111) surface, the adsorption energies of (i) CH₃OH, CH₂OH, CHOH, and COH increased linearly, while those of (ii) CH₃OH, CH₃O, CH₂O, CHO, and CO exhibited odd‐even oscillation. On PtPd(111) surface, CH₃OH underwent the preferred initial C H bond scission followed by successive dehydrogenation and then CHO oxidation, that is, CH₃OH → CH₂OH → CHOH → CHO → CHOOH → COOH → CO₂. Importantly, the rate‐determining step of CH₃OH oxidation was found to switch from CO → CO₂ on Pt(111) to COOH → CO₂ + H on PtPd(111) with a lower energy barrier of 0.96 eV. Moreover, water also decomposed into OH more easily on PtPd(111) than on Pt(111). The calculated results indicate that alloying Pt with Pd could efficiently improve its catalytic performance for CH₃OH oxidation through altering the primary pathways from the CO path on pure Pt to the non‐CO path on PtPd(111).     

A flash photolysis study of the rate of the reaction OH + CH4 → CH3 + H2O over an extended temperature range

A flash photolysis system has been used to study the rate of reaction (1), OH + CH₄ → CH₃ + H₂O, using time-resolved resonance absorption to monitor OH. The temperature was varied between 300 and 900°K. It is found that the Arrhenius plot of k₁ is strongly curved and k₁ (T) can best be represented by the expression The apparent Arrhenius activation energy changes from 15±1 kJ/mole at 300°K to 32±2 kJ/mole at 1000°K. On either side of our temperature range, both absolute rates and their temperature dependence are in good agreement with the results from most previous investigations.     

OH Radicals as Oxidizing Agent for the Abatement of Organic Pollutants in Gas Flows by Dielectric Barrier Discharges

OH radicals play an essential role in various plasma-chemical processes aimed at the abatement of organic and inorganic pollutants from off-air flows. We report about the oxidation of carbon monoxide in nonthermal air and nitrogen plasmas in dependence on CO inlet concentration and flow humidity. Thereby the reaction CO + OH CO₂ + H served as a diagnostic tool for OH radical determination in the dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. The results were numerically fitted to the equations of a kinetic model allowing the determination of the average OH production efficiency (G_OH-value) and OH lifetime (T_OH) in dependence on flow humidity. Finally,results on ethyl acetate abatement obtained under similar experimental conditions were modeled by OH radical decomposition.     

The quantum efficiency of the primary processes in formaldehyde photolysis at 3130 Å and 25°C

The mechanism of the photolysis of formaldehyde was studied in experiments at 3130 Å and in the pressure range of 1–12 torr at 25°C. The experiments were designed to establish the quantum yields of the primary decomposition steps (1) and (2), CH₂O + hν → H + HCO (1): CH₂O + hν → H₂ + CO (2), through the effects of added isobutene, trimethylsilane, and nitric oxide on Φ_CO and Φ. The ratio Φ_CO/Φ was found to be 1.01 ± 0.09(2σ) and (Φ + Φ_CO)/2 = 1.10 ± 0.08 over the range of pressures and a 12-fold change in incident light intensity. Isobutene and nitric oxide additions reduced Φ to about the same limiting value, 0.32 ± 0.03 and 0.34 ± 0.04, respectively, but these added gases differed in their effects on Φ_CO. With isobutene addition Φ_CO/Φ reached a limiting value of 2.3; with NO addition Φ_CO exceeded unity. The addition of small amounts of Me₃SiH reduced Φ to 1.02 ± 0.08 and lowered Φ_CO to 0.7. These findings were rationalized in terms of a mechanism in which the “nonscavengeable,” molecular hydrogen is formed in reaction (2) with ?₂ = 0.32 ± 0.03, while the “free radical” hydrogen is formed in reaction (1) with ?₁ = 0.68 ± 0.03. In the pure formaldehyde system these reactions are followed by (3)–(5): H + CH₂O → H₂ + HCO (3); 2HCO → CH₂O + CO (4); 2HCO → H₂ + 2CO (5). The data suggest k₄/k₅ ? 5.8. Isobutene reduced Φ by the reaction H + iso-C₄H₈ → C₄H₉ (20), and the results give k₂₀/k₃ ? 43 ± 4, in good agreement with the ratio of the reported values of the individual constants k₃ and k₂₀.     

Study of the HNO + HNO and HNO + NO reactions by intracavity laser spectroscopy

Flash photolysis of CH₃CHO and H₂CO in the presence of NO has been investigated by the intracavity laser spectroscopy technique. The decay of HNO formed by the reaction HCO + NO → HNO + CO was studied at NO pressures of 6.8–380 torr. At low NO pressure HNO was found to decay by the reaction HNO + HNO → N₂O + H₂O. The rate constant of this reaction was determined to be k₁ = (1.5 ± 0.8) × 10^?15 cm³/s. At high NO pressure the reaction HNO + NO → products was more important, and its rate constant was measured to be k₂ = (5 ± 1.5) × 10^?19 cm³/s. NO₂ was detected as one of the products of this reaction. Alternative mechanisms for this reaction are discussed.