Energy distribution of the CN products of the H+HCN, H+ClCN, and F+HCN reactions

Abstract

Three reactions of the type X+YCN→XY+CN (X, Y=H, H; H, Cl; F, H) were studied by probing the internal state distribution of the CN product. The fraction of the available energy released as CN rotation is very small consistent with theoretical predictions that these reactions are collinear abstractions. At higher incident kinetic energies of the X atom a larger fraction of the available energy is released into rotation, suggesting that the reactive collision can take place at larger angles of attack. In the reverse reaction CN+HD→HCN(DCN) +D(H) using rapidly rotating CN as a reactant the [H]/[D] ratio is 1.4±0.1.