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