Excimer laser photolysis in combination with
time-resolved IR laser absorption detection of OH radicals
has
been used to study O3/OH(v =
0)/HO2 chain reaction kinetics at 298 K, (i.e., OH +
O3
HO2 + O2 and
HO2 + O3
OH + 2O2). From time-resolved detection of OH
radicals with high-resolution near IR laser
absorption methods, the chain induction kinetics have been measured at
up to an order of magnitude higher
ozone concentrations ([O3] ≤ 1017
molecules/cm3) than accessible in previous studies.
This greater dynamic
range permits the full evolution of the chain induction, propagation,
and termination process to be temporally
isolated and measured in real time. An exact solution for
time-dependent OH evolution under pseudo- first-order chain reaction conditions is presented, which correctly predicts
new kinetic signatures not included in
previous OH + O3 kinetic analyses. Specifically, the
solutions predict an initial exponential loss (chain
“induction”) of the OH radical to a steady-state level
([OH]ss), with this fast initial decay determined by
the
sum of both chain rate constants,
k
ind = k
1 +
k
2. By monitoring the chain induction
feature, this sum of the
rate constants is determined to be k
ind =
8.4(8) × 10-14
cm3 molecule-1
s-1 for room temperature
reagents.
This is significantly higher than the values currently recommended
for use in atmospheric models, but in
excellent agreement with previous results from Ravishankara et al.
[J. Chem. Phys.
1979, 70,
984].