Richard A. Cox

Evaluated kinetic data for combustion modelling

This compilation contains critically evaluated kinetic data on elementary homogeneous gas phase chemical reactions for use in modelling combustion processes. Data sheets are presented for some 196 reactions. Each data sheet sets out relevant thermodynamic data, rate coefficient measurements, an assessment of the reliability of the data, references, and recommended rate parameters. Tables summarizing the preferred rate data are also given. The reactions considered are limited largely to those involved in the combustion of methane and ethane in air but a few reactions relevant to the chemistry of exhaust gases and to the combustion of aromatic compounds are also included.

Evaluated kinetic and photochemical data for atmospheric chemistry

This paper contains a critical evaluation of the kinetics and photochemistry of gas phase chemical reactions of neutral species involved in middle atmosphere chemistry (10–55 km altitude). The work has been carried out by the authors under the auspices of the CODATA Task Group on Chemical Kinetics. Data sheets have been prepared for 148 thermal and photochemical reactions, containing summaries of the available experimental data with notes giving details of the experimental procedures. For each reaction a preferred value of the rate coefficient at 298 K is given together with a temperature dependency where possible. The selection of the preferred value is discussed, and estimates of the accuracies of the rate coefficients and temperature coefficients have been made for each reaction. The data sheets are intended to provide the basic physical chemical data needed as input for calculations which model atmospheric chemistry. A table summarizing the preferred rate data is provided, together with an Appendix listing the available data on enthalpies of formation of the reactant and product species.

Evaluated Kinetic, Photochemical and Heterogeneous Data for Atmospheric Chemistry: Supplement V. IUPAC Subcommittee on Gas Kinetic Data Evaluation for Atmospheric Chemistry

This paper updates and extends previous critical evaluations of the kinetics and photochemistry of gas-phase chemical reactions of neutral species involved in atmospheric chemistry [J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 9, 295 (1980); 11, 327 (1982); 13, 1259 (1984); 18, 881 (1989); 21, 1125 (1992)]. The work has been carried out by the authors under the auspices of the IUPAC Subcommittee on Gas Phase Kinetic Data Evaluation for Atmospheric Chemistry. Data sheets have been prepared for 658 thermal and photochemical reactions, containing summaries of the available experimental data with notes giving details of the experimental procedures. For each reaction, a preferred value of the rate coefficient at 298 K is given together with a temperature dependence where possible. The selection of the preferred value is discussed and estimates of the accuracies of the rate coefficients and temperature coefficients have been made for each reaction. The data sheets are intended to provide the basic physical chemical data needed as ...

Organic peroxy radicals: Kinetics, spectroscopy and tropospheric chemistry

The present state of knowledge of organic, or carbon-based, peroxy radicals (RO2) is reviewed. Data on the chemical and physical properties of peroxy radicals in the gas-phase is considered, as well as the role of peroxy radicals in tropospheric chemistry and measurements of their concentrations in the atmosphere. Where appropriate, peroxy radicals are grouped together by type (alkyl, acyl, oxygen-substituted, halogen-substituted and aromatic radicals) to facilitate comparison. Data on the hydroperoxy radical (HO2) is included where it is directly relevant to measurements on organic peroxy radicals, eg. absorption cross-sections used in measurements of RO2 + HO2 rate constants. The literature data is critically reviewed and recommendations for absorption cross-sections, rate constants and branching ratios are made where considered appropriate. The laboratory experimental techniques which have been used for the generation and detection of peroxy radicals and the products of their reactions are discussed. The structure, spectroscopy and thermochemistry of the radicals are examined. Although the majority of spectroscopic data concerns the u.v. spectra much used for kinetic studies, near-infrared, infrared and electron spin resonance spectra are also considered. In many cases, peroxy radical u.v. spectra are well-fitted by a Gaussian distribution function, enabling the cross-sections to be easily calculated at any wavelength. For the purpose of this review, the chemical reactions of peroxy radicals are divided into reactions with organic peroxy radicals with HO2, with NO and NO2, and finally with other species. Peroxy radical abstraction and addition reactions with closed-shell species are sufficiently slow to be of negligible importance at temperatures pertinent to the atmosphere and are consequently not covered. Data on both the kinetics and mechanisms of peroxy radical reactions are considered. The role of peroxy radicals as intermediates in the atmospheric degradation of volatile organic compounds and in the production of ozone in the troposphere under both low and high [NOx] conditions is discussed. The involvement of peroxy radicals in night-time oxidation chemistry and the oxidation of halocarbons is also indicated. The techniques used for the difficult measurement of peroxy radical concentrations in the atmosphere are described, together with the results to date. Finally, some tentative suggestions as to further avenues of research are made, based on the data reviewed here and with particular reference to the solution of outstanding problems in atmospheric chemistry. Although a great deal of progress has been made in recent years, it is clear that additional work is needed in most areas covered by this review. New, sensitive and selective laboratory techniques are required for studies of peroxy radical kinetics and high level ab initio calculations would help design laser-based detection techniques. Further product studies of photooxidation systems are needed, particularly as a function of temperature. Recent work has shown that the rate constants for RO2 + HO2 reactions used in modelling studies may be too low; if so, these reactions will be correspondingly more important than previously believed in tropospheric oxidation. Recent kinetic studies of the potentially important reactions of methylperoxy radicals with ClO and NO3 need to be confirmed and mechanistic work is necessary. Although substantial progress has been made towards the monitoring of peroxy radical concentrations in the atmosphere, more work is needed, both on measurements and the development of new techniques.

Evaluated Kinetic and Photochemical Data for Atmospheric Chemistry: Supplement I CODATA Task Group on Chemical Kinetics

This paper updates and extends a previous critical evaluation of the kinetics and photochemistry of gas phase chemical reactions of neutral species involved in middle atmosphere chemistry (10–55 km altitude) [J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 9, 295 (1980)]. The work has been carried out by the authors under the auspices of the CODATA Task Group on Chemical Kinetics. Data sheets have been prepared for 228 thermal and photochemical reactions, containing summaries of the available experimental data with notes giving details of the experimental procedures. For each reaction a preferred value of the rate coefficient at 298 K is given together with a temperature dependence where possible. The selection of the preferred value is discussed, and estimates of the accuracies of the rate coefficients and temperature coefficients have been made for each reaction. The data sheets are intended to provide the basic physical chemical data needed as input for calculations which model atmospheric chemistry. A table summarizing the preferred rate data is provided, together with an appendix listing the available data on enthalpies of formation of the reactant and product species.

Evaluated Kinetic and Photochemical Data for Atmospheric Chemistry: Supplement II. CODATA Task Group on Gas Phase Chemical Kinetics

This paper updates and extends previous critical evaluations of the kinetics and photochemistry of gas phase chemical reactions of neutral species involved in atmosphere chemistry [J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 9, 295 (1980); 11 327 (1982)]. The work has been carried out by the authors under the auspices of the CODATA Task Group on Gas Phase Chemical Kinetics. Data sheets have been prepared for 256 thermal and photochemical reactions, containing summaries of the available experimental data with notes giving details of the experimental procedures. For each reaction, a preferred value of the rate coefficient at 298 K is given together with a temperature dependence where possible. The selection of the preferred value is discussed; and estimates of the accuracies of the rate coefficients and temperature coefficients have been made for each reaction. The data sheets are intended to provide the basic physical chemical data needed as input for calculations which model atmospheric chemistry. A table summarizing the pr...

Atmospheric chemistry of small organic peroxy radicals

Global atmospheric models play a key role in international assessments of the human impact on global climate and air pollution. To increase the accuracy and facilitate comparison of results from such models, it is essential they contain up-to-date chemical mechanisms. To this end, we present an evaluation of the atmospheric chemistry of the four most abundant organic peroxy radicals: CH3O2, C2H5O2, CH3C(O)O2, and CH3C(O)CH2O2. The literature data for the atmospheric reactions of these radicals are evaluated. In addition, the ultraviolet absorption cross sections for the above radicals and for HO2 have been evaluated. The absorption spectra were fitted to an analytical formula, which enabled published spectra to be screened objectively. Published kinetic and product data were reinterpreted, or in some case reanalyzed, using the new cross sections, leading to a self-consistent set of kinetic, mechanistic, and spectroscopic data. Product studies were also evaluated. A set of peroxy radical reaction rate coefficients and products are recommended for use in atmospheric modeling. A three-dimensional global chemical transport model (the Intermediate Model for the Global Evolution of Species, IMAGES) was run using both previously recommended rate coefficients and the current set to highlight the sensitivity of key atmospheric trace species to the peroxy radical chemistry used in the model.

Laboratory studies of the kinetics of formation of nitrous acid from the thermal reaction of nitrogen dioxide and water vapour

Abstract The kinetics of the formation of nitrous acid (MONO) and removal of NO2 during the heterogeneous reaction of NO2 and H2O were investigated using infra-red diode laser spectroscopy and u.v./visible spectroscopy. The majority of experiments were performed at temperatures of 292 and 296 K, and at pressures of less than 10 Torr, but a limited number were performed at 277 and 311 K and at pressures of up to 297 Torr. The 19.8-l pyrex reaction vessel used in this work ( s v = 13 m −1 ) had stainless steel end plates and contained gold coated multi-reflection ‘White’ optics. The initial kinetics of HONO production and NO2 removal were found to be 1st order in both [NO2] and [H2O] and the observed 2nd order rate constant, independent of pressure at 296 K, was: k= d[ HONO ] dt [NO 2 ][H 2 O] = 3.2 × 10 −22 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 . The yield of HONO during the early stages of reaction was ~ 50 % relative to NO2 removed, but as the reaction proceeded the kinetics became more complicated, and the yield was reduced. HNO3 is almost certainly produced, but could not be detected in the gas phase by infra-red measurement at 890 cm−1. HONO may be an important precursor to OH radicals in the atmospheric boundary layer. An estimate of the production rate of HONO from the reaction of NO2 and H2O in the night-time boundary layer has been made using the results of this work, and a comparison is made with those based on field observations.

Halogen oxides: Radicals, sources and reservoirs in the laboratory and in the atmosphere

Abstract The central topic of this review concerns the species XO, where X is F, Cl, Br or I. These molecules are thus the radicals FO, ClO, BrO and IO, but attention is also given to some of their precursors in the laboratory and the atmosphere, as well as to their reservoirs, sinks, and other related species of potential atmospheric importance. Laboratory data on the physics and chemistry of the species and atmospheric determinations of their concentrations are both considered. One aim of the review is to highlight the relationship between the laboratory investigations and the atmospheric studies. The emphasis of the review is on gas-phase processes. After a brief introductory section, the review continues with an examination of laboratory techniques for the study of the halogen-oxide species. This section fast looks at the general properties of the oxides and sources of them for laboratory experiments, then discusses the detection and measurement of the monoxide radicals in the laboratory, and ends with a description of the kinetic tools that have been harnessed in the various studies. The spectroscopy, structure, photochemistry and thermochemistry, of the halogen oxides are discussed in Section III. Both experimental and theoretical aspects are presented. The objectives of the work described are on the one hand to establish the basis for the detection of the radical and the measurement of its concentration in the laboratory and in the atmosphere, and on the other to provide the framework for interpreting pathways, mechanisms and efficiencies of photochemical and thermal reactions. Sections IV, V and VI of the review address the main issues of observed chemistry and its kinetics. Section IV gathers together available kinetic and mechanistic information on gas-phase reactions of FO, ClO, BrO and IO radicals, and the available data are summarized in appropriate tables. Section V reports on the corresponding data available for the gas-phase reactions of certain species containing the XO grouping, which include most of the so-called atmospheric reservoirs of XO radicals. There are three sub-sections, which deal in turn with oxide species, HOX, and XONO2. Heterogeneous processes are introduced in Section VI. Heterogeneous chemistry in the atmosphere is that which occurs on or in ambient condensed phases that are in contact with the gas phase, such as aerosols, clouds, surface waters, and so on. It is becoming increasingly clear that such processes are of importance not only in the stratosphere, but also in the troposphere. Section VII of the review is concerned directly with the atmosphere. The sources and sinks of the compounds, the reaction pathways, temporary and permanent reservoirs, observational evidence, the involvement of the species in atmospheric chemistry, and modelling studies are considered for the troposphere and the stratosphere in turn. The section concludes with a more detailed exposition of the role of modelling of the halogen compounds in the stratosphere. The review concludes with an examination of issues in regard to the halogen oxide species that are unresolved, uncertain, or in need of further research. Further data are required, for example, on the spectroscopy and photochemistry of reservoir compounds, on potential organic sources of atmospheric iodine, and even on the channels for photolysis of compounds such as OClO. Within the field of reaction kinetics, there is a need for further study of the kinetics of dimer formation, and of certain other reactions of the radicals themselves (especially of IO) and some of their reservoirs. A substantial number of problems in heterogeneous chemistry of the species remain to be solved. Not only are some key physical measurements missing, but most of what has been achieved in both chemistry and physics is limited to chlorine-containing species, so that the work needs to be extended to the other halogens. There is also a need for a search for novel reactions occurring on conventional surfaces and for all types of reaction occurring on surfaces that exist within the atmosphere but which have not yet been the subject of laboratory study. So far as the atmosphere itself is concerned, there are important issues to be resolved. They include (i) the involvement of halogen species in episodic tropospherec ozone depletion in the Arctic (and a further question about whether or not such depletion is more widespread); (ii) the role of an active halogen chemistry in the oxidation of VOC; (iii) the significance and detail of stratospheric iodine and iodine-catalysed ozone removal; and (iv) the quantitative description of heterogeneous stratospheric chemistry.

Mechanism of atmospheric photooxidation of organic compounds. Reactions of alkoxy radicals in oxidation of n-butane and simple ketones.

The OH-initiated photo-oxidation of n-butane was used as a source of 1- and 2-butoxy radicals. Reactions producing ketones and other organic compounds are explained. Rates of photolysis were determined and are discussed.