Identification of Chemi-ions Formed by Reactions of Deuterated Fuels in the Reflected Shock Zone

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/j100371a025

Dilute mixtures of various fuels with and without oxygen were analyzed dynamically from the reflected shock zone by time-of-flight mass spectrometry to test for the presence of chemi-ions.The identity of the major chemi-ion species and the amounts produced depended upon the fuel/O2 ratio, temperature, observation time, and the cleanliness of the shock tube-mass spectrometer system.Chemi-ions were readily observed in oxidative mixtures of acetylene, ethylene, benzene, and acetaldehyde.Deuterated compounds of these fuels were employed to demonstrate the absence of chemi-ions in oxygen-free mixtures.It follows that the radical-molecule mechanism for soot formation is dominant in pyrolytic reaction systems.