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, E / 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 E / N > 2 × 10−17V·cm2 attachment occurs by a two-body process, presumably the dissociative attachment process leading to O− as observed in electron beam experiments.