Shock Waves in Chemical Kinetics

Author: Britton, John Doyle

Year: 1955

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Davidson, Norman R.

Committee Member: Unknown, Unknown

Option: Chemistry; Mathematics

DOI: 10.7907/Y16V-VY27

Abstract

NOTE: Text or symbols not renderable in plain ASCII are indicated by [...]. Abstract is included in .pdf document.

The rates of dissociation of I[subscript 2] in N[subscript 2] and CO[subscript 2], and Br[subscript 2] in A were measured at temperatures around 1300[degrees]K by heating room temperature mixtures by means of shock waves and observing the subsequent reactions. The rates of recombination of both I[subscript 2] and Br[subscript 2] were found to decrease with increasing temperature. The results, combined with room temperature measurements seemed to be best expressed in the form K[subscript R] = A exp([...]/RT). Attempts to measure the efficiency of I[subscript 2] or Br[subscript 2] molecules as third bodies for the recombination gave only rather wide limits to the possible values.

The experiments also showed that CO[subscript 2] is vibrationally relaxed at high temperatures in a time short compared to the reaction time of 20-200 microseconds. It was not possible to decide whether or not N[subscript 2] is vibrationally relaxed at this temperature in this short time.

Extinction coefficients of I[subscript 2] and Br[subscript 2] were measured as a function of the temperature. They appeared to be dependent on the inert gas.

Files