Sonolytic Decomposition of Nitrous Oxide in Aqueous Solution

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/j100280a105

Water was insonated with 300-kHz ultrasound under pure argon, pure nitrous oxide, and mixtures of the two gases.The products of decomposition of N2O are N2, O2, NO2^-, and small amounts of NO3^-.Maximum yield of decomposition occurs at an Ar/N2O vol percent ratio of 85:15, the yield being comparable to that of the well-known CCl4-KI reaction.N2O is decomposed at a very low rate when water is insonated under pure nitrous oxide.H2O molecules and N2O molecules in argon bubbles containing a few percent N2O are decomposed with similar rates, although N2O is much more unstable than H2O.This observation is explained by postulating that all H2O molecules and N2O molecules in an argon bubble are converted into radicals in the short time of the adiabatic compression phase of a bubble.The yield of N2O decomposition increases with increasing gas pressure in a similar way as for other sonolytic reactions.