Nitrogen Trichloride Decomposition in the Presence of Molecular Hydrogen: I. Promotion of Nitrogen Trichloride Decomposition by Molecular Hydrogen Additives Near the Lower Self-Ignition Limit

The promotion of the branched-chain decomposition of nitrogen trichloride by molecular hydrogen additives at room temperature and 20 torr manifests itself in a decrease in the induction period and the acceleration of reactant consumption with an increase in the hydrogen concentration in the NCl₃+ H₂+ He mixtures. The emission spectrum of the H₂+ NCl₃flame contains the intense bands of NCl (b¹⁺– X^3–, = 1 – 0, = 0 – 1, and = 0 – 0, where is the vibrational quantum number) and the bands of a hydrogen-free compound. The latter bands can be assigned to electronically excited NCl₂radicals formed in the H + NCl₃reaction. The calculations restrict the number of elementary reactions favoring promotion. The promotion effect in the system studied should be due to the side reaction of linear branching. The occurrence of the H + NCl₃reaction via two pathways (NHCl + 2Cl and NCl₂+ HCl) ensures the qualitative agreement between the experimental data and calculation.