Flame-ion chemistry of the lanthanide metals Ce,Pr and Nd

A pair of premixed, H₂O₂Ar flames of fuel-rich (FR) and fuel-lean (FL) composition, both at atmospheric pressure and 2425 K, were doped with about 10⁻⁶ mol fraction of the lanthanide metals La, Ce, Pr and Nd; from a previous study, La was used as a benchmark. The metals produce solid particles in the flames and gaseous metallic species. The latter include metallic atoms A near the flame reaction zone, but only the monoxide AO, the oxide hydroxide OAOH and, in some cases, the dioxide AO₂ further downstream at equilibrium. Metallic ions (< 1% of the total metal) were observed by sampling the flames through a nozzle into a mass spectrometer. All of the observed ions can be represented by four hydrate series: (a) major signals of AO⁺·nH₂O (n = 0–3) for La, Ce, Pr and Nd; (b) small signals of AO₂H⁺·nH₂O (n = 0–2) for Ce, Pr and Nd; (c) still smaller signals of AO₂⁺·nH₂O (n = 0, 1) for Ce, Pr and Nd in the FL flame only; and (d) tiny signals of AOH⁺·nH₂O (n = 0, 1) for Pr and Nd in the FR flame only. The actual structures of some of these ions may not correspond to simple hydrates: e.g. AO⁺·H₂O = A(OH)₂⁺ = protonated OAOH; AO₂H⁺·H₂O = A(OH)₃⁺, etc. Since hydrogen flames contain essentially no natural ionization, a major objective was to consider probable ionization mechanisms for the metals. The primary reactions include both chemi-ionization, and thermal (collisional) ionization of AO whose ionization energy is low (about 5 eV). Some of the ions are formed by secondary ion/molecule reactions including three-body hydration, proton transfer, electron (charge) transfer, H atom abstraction by radicals and oxidation. In addition, the chemical ionization of the metallic species by H₃O⁺ was investigated. The flame-ion chemistry of these metals is discussed in detail.