Kinetics of the FNO + HO2 reaction

The reaction between FNO and HO2 constitutes the propagation step in a chain reaction converting H2 and F2 into HF. Time resolved UV spectroscopy reveals that NO forms simultaneously with HO2 disappearance indicating that the formation of HF + NO + O2 is the major product channel. The measured rate constant for this reaction is k4 = (2.7−1/3+2.8) × 10−13 e742±190)/T cm3 s−1 over the temperature range 223–327 K and at a total pressure of 550–700 Torr. Analogous experiments indicate that the FNO + CH3O2 reaction proceeds with a rate constant k < 5 × 10−14 cm3 s−1 at 295 K.