Reaction Rate Measurements
Accurate reaction rate constants of elementary reactions are a fundamental necessity for robust chemical kinetic models.
However, high-resolution measurements of some crucial hydrocarbon oxidation and pyrolysis reactions are still missing, which leads to large uncertainties in many contemporary kinetics models. In the Hanson Research Group, we apply advanced laser diagnostics to the detection of key intermediate species to quantify the reaction rate constants of important reactions. Through this strategy, reaction rate constants of key reactions in hydrocarbon combustion can be quantified with an uncertainty under 15%, down from more than 100%. With our techniques, we continue to make several improvements in scientific research and practical applications, including a 30-year effort to suppress uncertainty associated with a key chain branching reaction to within 10% [1]. Our team has also achieved recent breakthroughs to improve discrepancies with modern models in the very important natural gas pyrolysis process.
To learn more, check out some of our publications:
[1] Wang, S., Davidson, D. F., & Hanson, R. K. (2017). "Shock tube and laser absorption study of CH2O oxidation via simultaneous measurements of OH and CO," Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 121(45), 8561-8568, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.7b09362
[2] Hong, Z., Davidson, D. F., & Hanson, R. K. (2011). “An improved H2/O2 mechanism based on recent shock tube/laser absorption measurements,” Combustion and Flame, 158(4), 633–644, DOI: 10.1016/j.combustflame.2010.10.002
[2] Shao, J., Wei, W., Choudhary, R., Davidson, D. F., & Hanson, R. K. (2019). “Shock tube measurement of the CH3+ C2H6→ CH4+ C2H5 rate constant,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 123(42), 9096–9101, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.9b07691