Electron Attachment in N2O

Abstract

Electron attachment coefficients in N₂O at 300°K have been measured using drift‐tube techniques. For ratios of electric field to gas density, $\mathrm{E\hspace{0.17em}/\hspace{0.17em}N}$ , below about 2 × 10⁻¹⁷V·cm² attachment occurs by an apparent three‐body process. Extrapolation to thermal electron energies yields an attachment rate coefficient of (6 ± 1) × 10⁻³³ cm⁶ sec⁻¹, in good agreement with the value obtained by Fessenden and Warman from microwave afterglow studies. For ${\text{E\hspace{0.17em}/\hspace{0.17em}N\hspace{0.17em}>\hspace{0.17em}2\hspace{0.17em}×\hspace{0.17em}10}}^{\text{−17}}{\mathrm{V·cm}}^2$ attachment occurs by a two‐body process, presumably the dissociative attachment process leading to $O^{-}$ as observed in electron beam experiments.