A low temperature investigation of the N(4S°) + NO reaction

Abstract

The kinetics of the N(⁴S°) + NO(X²Π) reaction have been studied in a continuous supersonic flow reactor over the range 48 K ≤T≤ 211 K. Nitrogen atoms were produced by microwave discharge upstream of the Laval nozzle and were probed in the vacuum ultraviolet by resonance fluorescence. The reaction has been found to exhibit a small negative temperature dependence, with a rate coefficient decreasing from (5.8 ± 0.3) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 48 K to (3.3 ± 0.2) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 211 K with the statistical uncertainties cited at the level of a single standard deviation from the mean.