Study of the Characteristics of Elementary Processes in a Chain Hydrogen Burning Reaction in Oxygen

Resumo

The characteristics of possible chain explosive hydrogen burning reactions in an oxidizing medium are calculated on the potential energy surface. Specifically, reactions H₂ + O₂ → H₂O + O, H₂ + O₂ → HO₂ + H, and H₂ + O₂ → OH + OH are considered. Special attention is devoted to the production of a pair of fast highly reactive OH radicals. Because of the high activation threshold, this reaction is often excluded from the known kinetic scheme of hydrogen burning. However, a spread in estimates of kinetic characteristics and a disagreement between theoretical predictions with experimental results suggest that the kinetic scheme should be refined.