title: Revealing atom-radical reactivity at low temperature through the N + OH reaction.
abstract: More than 100 reactions between stable molecules and free radicals have been shown to remain rapid at low temperatures. In contrast, reactions between two unstable radicals have received much less attention due to the added complexity of producing and measuring excess radical concentrations. We performed kinetic experiments on the barrierless N((4)S) + OH((2)Π) → H((2)S) + NO((2)Π) reaction in a supersonic flow (Laval nozzle) reactor. We used a microwave-discharge method to generate atomic nitrogen and a relative-rate method to follow the reaction kinetics. The measured rates agreed well with the results of exact and approximate quantum mechanical calculations. These results also provide insight into the gas-phase formation mechanisms of molecular nitrogen in interstellar clouds.
authors.affiliation: Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Sciences Moléculaires, CNRS UMR 5255, F-33400 Talence, France.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Daranlot
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jorfi
authors.forename: Changjian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergeat
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costes
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caubet
authors.forename: Daiqian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Honvault
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Hickson