Absorption of nitrogen dioxide by aqueous solutions

Abstract

Nitrogen dioxide at low concentration in air is very poorly absorbed by water in simple bubblers, unless certain reactive solutes are present. These seem capable of undergoing a fast surface reaction, possibly of the charge-transfer type, with nitrogen dioxide acting as the electron-acceptor. By choosing suitable concentrations, the relative reactivities of different compounds can be estimated fairly accurately; phenoxide ions are highly reactive while aliphatic amines, including sulphamic acid, are inactive.