Kinetics of ionization of the alkali metals in H2+O2+N2 flames

Abstract

The kinetics of ionization of alkali metals at atmospheric pressure in H₂+O₂+N₂ flames have been investigated both by the microwave cavity resonance technique and a flame-photometric method at optical frequencies. These techniques give complementary results which suggest that the ionization process is A+M→A⁺+e^–+M, where M represents any flame gas molecule, and that the activation energy of this process is, within experimental error, equal to the ionization potential of the metal. Cross-sections calculated on the basis of the simplest collision theory are several orders of magnitude greater than those expected.