Atmospheric loss of nitrous oxide (N₂O) is not influenced by its potential reactions with OH and NO₃radicals

Abstract

The rate coefficient for the possible reaction of OH and NO3 radical with N2O are shown to be, respectively, <1 × 10−17 and <5 × 10−20 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. They are too low to contribute significantly to the atmospheric removal of N2O.

Investigation of Product Formation in the O(1D, 3P) + N2O Reactions: Comparison of Experimental and Theoretical Kinetics

“…Accordingly, in the following text, the energies predicted by the CCSD­(T)/CBS//CCSD/aug-cc-pVTZ method will be cited. It is worth mentioning that the energy-barrier heights for the O­( 3 P) + N 2 O­( X 1 Σ + ) → NO­( X 2 Π) + NO­( X 2 Π) and O­( 3 P) + N 2 O­( X 1 Σ + ) → N 2 ( X 1 Σ g + ) + O 2 ( X 3 Σ g – ) reactions at all levels as shown in Table were predicted to be ∼27 and ∼41 kcal mol –1 , respectively, which are much larger than the experimental data, 23.15 and 10.8 kcal mol –1 , respectively, indicating that the reaction can most likely occur by singlet–triplet surface crossing via the intersection points (MSXs), as discussed in detail in the following section.…”

“…Nitrous oxide, N 2 O, is known to be a resilient species which can survive the complex chemistry in the troposphere. There are no known reactive radicals which can effectively destroy it during its transport from the lower troposphere to the stratosphere . In the stratosphere, however, the O­( 1 D) atom produced from the photo-dissociation of O 3 can effectively react with it via the well-established pathways by attacking the terminal N and O atoms …”

“…There are no known reactive radicals which can effectively destroy it during its transport from the lower troposphere to the stratosphere. 1 In the stratosphere, however, the O( 1 D) atom produced from the photo-dissociation of O 3 can effectively react with it via the wellestablished pathways by attacking the terminal N and O atoms 2 The rate constants for the reactions of the excited O( 1 D) atom with N 2 O have been measured by many research groups, 2−9 mostly for the total rate constant and the branching rate constant (1a) on account of the fact that its reaction product NO can be more readily detected spectroscopically. The NASA/ JPL panel recommended the rate constants k 1a = 6.7 × 10 −11 and k 1b = 4.9 × 10 −11 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 at 298 K for use in stratospheric modeling studies.…”

N2O Temporal Variability from the Middle Troposphere to the Middle Stratosphere Based on Airborne and Balloon-Borne Observations during the Period 1987–2018

“…In the troposphere, it absorbs infrared radiation and thus contributes to global warming. Because of this absorption capacity and its long lifetime of 118 ± 7 years (average value derived from [1,2]), N 2 O is the fourth most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere [3]. Natural N 2 O emissions mainly come from bacterial nitrification and de-nitrification reactions in soils and the oceans.…”