Rates of the reactions CN + H2CO and NCO + H2CO in the temperature range 294–769 K Original Research Article

The rate coefficients of the reactions: (1) CN + H2CO → products and (2) NCO + H2CO → products in the temperature range 294–769 K have been determined by means of the laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence technique. Our measurements show that reaction (1) is rapid: k1(294 K) = (1.64 ± 0.25) x 10−11 cm3 molecule−1 s−1; the Arrhenius relation was determined as k1 = (6.7 ± 1.0) x 10−11 exp[(−412 ± 20)T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1. Reaction (2) is approximately a tenth as rapid as reaction (1) and the temperature dependence of k2 does not conform to the Arrhenius form: k2 = 4.62 x 10−17T1.71 exp(198T) cm3 molecule−1 s−1. Our values are in reasonable agreement with the only reported measurement of k1; the rate coefficients for reaction (2) have not been previously reported.